Saved
by CullenizeMeEdward
Summary: AU/AH Edward Cullen has finally pushed his father to the limit. After adding yet another mark to his already hefty arrest record, Edward is sent to live with his grandmother in Forks where he'll be forced to question everything he thought he knew.
1. Chapter One: Wrecked

**General Disclaimer: **Obviously, I don't own Twilight, as I'm not SMeyer. I think _my _Edward is more fun than _her _Edward though.

**A/N: So, with the help of vjgm from Twilighted, I've gone through and tamed Edward's inner rage slightly in an effort to cut down on my gratuitous use of the word "Fuck". Still rated for language, as Edward's still an angry bastard.  
**

**EPOV**

_Well fuck,_ I thought as red and blue flashed against the night sky. My head was throbbing, though whether it was more from the booze or the steering wheel smashing into my skull, I wasn't sure, but I didn't really give a fuck at this particular moment. I had bigger things to worry about. Like the fact that the front of my car was wrapped around a tree, there were at least three cop cars surrounding my busted ass vehicle, and I had three open containers in the passenger seat. Like I said…_fuck. _

I hissed at the harsh light that assaulted my eyes when the 'pig in blue' shined his flash light into the car. "Step out of the vehicle, Cullen." It's never good when the cops know you by name.

_Fuck you_, I thought bitterly, though I wasn't really up to adding _resisting arrest_ to my file tonight, so I shoved the door open, praying it at least clipped piggy in the balls as it swung back if I pushed it hard enough. No such luck. Fuck. I stumbled from the driver's seat of the Volvo, my head spinning.

"Have you had anything to drink tonight?"

I snorted at the pig, rolling my eyes. "Jus' one or two." I really tried not to slur but Jesus Christ. That shit's easier said than done. Anyone who's ever been drunk will tell you just how hard it is to **not** slur. So of course I fucked that shit up, earning a knowing grin from the cop, but whatever. Like anyone couldn't tell I was wasted. I'd just wrapped the front end of my car around the fucking trunk of a tree for God's sake. Whatever.

"Alright, just step away from the vehicle, kid."

I stumbled away from the Volvo, scowling angrily as the rest of the pigs stopped whatever the hell they were doing to stare at me. Fucking Assholes.

I knew the fucking drill, but I let Weasel Dick walk me through the field sobriety test as another asshat searched my Volvo. I could feel the cold metal of the handcuffs digging into my hands as the jackoff cuffed me a little harder than necessary. "Jesus Christ!" I spat over my shoulder angrily. "Don't be so fucking rough next time, dickhead."

"Shut your fucking mouth, kid. You're in enough trouble as it is. Don't make me slap a disorderly charge on you too."

"Bite me, mother fucker."

He snorted as he shoved me forcefully into the back of his cruiser, my head clipping the edge of the door. I knew this part of the drill too. I'd have to sit in the back of this cold ass piece of shit while the rest of the pigs finished searching my car. Only after a tow truck had been called to haul awaymy now useless piece of shit car, would Weasel Dick finally take me down to the station. I'd be fingerprinted, photographed, and released to a responsible parent or guardian with various citations and yet another smudge on my already hefty record.

There was no doubt in my drunk mind that Carlisle would be pissed or, at the very least, threaten to let me sit over night in the county jail, but that was all talk. Of course he'd come and pick me up. He wouldn't want a rumor to start that the 'Good Doctor' abandoned his juvenile delinquent of a son during his time of need. Carlisle was all about avoiding a scandal. That worked in my favor most of the time, even if I did think he was the world's biggest douche.

"You just can't fucking stay out of trouble, can you Cullen? Daddy's not going to be too pleased after he gets _this _phone call."

"Fuck you Weasel Dick," I slurred, mentally flipping him off since I couldn't do so physically with my hands cuffed behind my back. I slouched down in the seat as much as possible, leaning my throbbing head back against the seat as I closed my eyes. I'd whacked my head pretty hard against the steering wheel and the door of the cruiser. I wondered if I could get the Good Doctor to sue the cops for failure to even make sure I didn't have a fucking concussion. I mean, I probably could have died sitting here or something.

I felt the car jerk to a stop, my head flying forward only to be stopped by the partition between Weasel Dick and myself. "Sonofabitch! Where the hell did you learn to drive?" I cursed, glaring at Weasel Dick. At least, I thought I was glaring at him. There were currently three of him in my life of vision. I didn't know if I was looking at the right one, but whatever. It was the thought that counted.

"Oops," he responded, though he didn't sound one fucking bit sorry. _Prick_. That certainly wasn't going to help the possible concussion. When I was less drunk, I'd have to play that up to get a little sympathy so that maybe I really could talk Carlisle into suing this piss poor police department. Then, I would fucking own Weasel Dick.

I almost laughed at the thought, but the throbbing in my head cut that shit real short. I groaned as he yanked me out of the back seat, my head spinning. I was almost positive that I was going to puke on his feet, but before I had the opportunity, he shoved me forward.

"This is fucking police brutality, asshole!" I screamed. "Watch your fucking hands."

"Shut the hell up, Cullen. Just get in the fucking station."

I wanted to argue with him, I wanted to remind him that he was nothing more than a wart on the genitals of society. But I didn't because I was already going to be in enough fucking trouble as it was. I didn't need to add an hour long lecture on how I needed to 'respect the heroes of our city' and all that other bullshit that Carlisle tended to spout once he really got going. So I kept my mouth shut and let him toss me in through the back door of the department.

Being arrested was not as cool as it's portrayed on TV. You basically get thrown in this tiny ass room with at least three pigs who stink and were sweating out of their fucking eyeballs while you sat there, handcuffed, in a cracked plastic chair that pinched your ass every time you so much as breathed. And supposedly, you only got one phone call, but that was bullshit because they made me call Carlisle as many times as it took for him to answer.

So there I sat, with my head tucked between my now un-cuffed hands as I waited for el Douche-o dad to show up.

The only sounds to be heard were Weasel Dick typing away on his old ass computer and some other asshat at the desk in the back of the room hacking his nasty fucking germs all over the place. Disgusting. The shrill ringing of the telephone sliced through the air, causing me to cringe as the sound assaulted my ears. Did everything have to be so goddamned loud?

"Processing," he greeted. I couldn't hear the bitch clearly on the other end of the phone, but Weasel Dick's portion of the conversation told me everything I needed to know. Carlisle was here. "Tell him to have a seat in the waiting room. I'm not done processing our friend yet."

As he slammed the phone down, again, harder than necessary, I scowled angrily. "_Doctor _Cullen doesn't take too kindly to waiting," I reminded him, but he was well aware. He simply smirked in my direction and shrugged.

"Then _Doctor _Cullen shouldn't have raised such a fuck up."

I wanted to punch Weasel Dick right in his smug fucking face, but assaulting a police officer was a pretty hefty charge and I wanted to do nothing more than to get my ass home, get naked, and possibly get my latest booty call over to the house for a good drunk fuck, so I kept my mouth shut, again. It wasn't easy,

Just as I was debating on whether or not to puke right there on the ugly floor, Weasel Dick pushed his chair back, cracking his knuckles. "Alright Cullen. Let's go."

"About fucking time, asshat."

"Shut your fucking mouth before I change my mind and hold you here a little longer."

He pulled me to my feet and shoved me towards the door of the processing room. I stumbled drunkenly down the hallway, nearly face-planting twice before we even made it to the waiting room. El Douche-o sat, his mouth turned downward in a frown as he pushed himself to his feet.

"Doctor Cullen," Weasel Dick greeted with a nod of his head.

"How much trouble is he in this time?" Carlisle asked, clenching his jaw.

I hated when they fucking talked about me like I wasn't even standing here. Douchebags.

"He's lucky he didn't kill himself. We got a call for an accident just off the highway. Driving drunk again, of course. We cited him for reckless driving, driving under the influence, underage possession of alcohol, three charges of driving with an open container, and possession of narcotics. When we searched the vehicle, we found a baggy of weed under the driver's seat."

Fuck. I knew I should have left that shit home. I didn't miss the glare that Carlisle sent my way and it took every ounce of strength I had to keep from flipping him the bird. Dick face. I loved when he pretended to actually give a shit whether or not I killed myself in front of other people. We both knew he didn't give two shits about what happened to me. He was just concerned about how this made _him _look.

But really, he should be thanking me. That asshole bagged all kinds of pussy from those stupid nurses at the hospital because of me. They all wanted to comfort him for having such a fuck up of a son. He almost pulled as much pussy as I did. _Almost_.

After signing all the necessary paperwork, we were finally given the clearance to leave. I stumbled out after him, ignoring the pointed glares he was throwing me the entire time. I climbed into the passenger seat of his black Mercedes, leaning my throbbing head back against the seat. I wondered if he was too angry to try and play the sympathy card but the sharp sound of him slamming the door told me everything I needed to know. He was pissed.

The ride to the house was silent and tense. He was busy stewing over the fact that he had to stop whatever the fuck he was doing to come get me and I was busy concentrating on not puking all over the inside of the Mercedes. Of course, it would be pretty funny to see Carlisle's reaction to that, but I wasn't looking forward to cleaning that shit up when I got home. And, since I didn't have the Volvo now, I didn't particularly want to smell like Vodka Vomit when Carlisle drove me to school on Monday. That shit's just gross.

I'd never been so happy to see the house as I was when he turned into the driveway. _Let's see… I fucked Tracy last night. Jamie's still got that disgusting stomach virus… Mandy. Yeah, Mandy's a good one to call. It's been a couple of days,_ I decided as I unstrapped my seatbelt.

"My office. Five minutes," Carlisle snarled as he climbed out of the Mercedes, not even giving me a goddamned chance to argue.

"You've got to be fucking kidding me," I cried as I stumbled out of the car. "C'mon, Carlisle! Can't this bullshit wait until tomorrow?"

"Five. Minutes," he reiterated, his jaw clenched again.

Well fuck. I hated his stupid lectures. It was a waste of time. We both knew that I completely ignored him, so really, what the hell was the point of continuing the charade? Whatever. I slammed the door of the Mercedes before I brushed passed him angrily, storming into the house.

As I stumbled my way up the stairs to my bedroom, I thought briefly about completely ignoring his demand about meeting him in his office and just go the hell to bed. But I knew Carlisle better than that. If I wasn't in his office in five fucking minutes, he'd come busting into my room and drag me out of bed and then I'd hear about that shit for days too. It was best to just get it the fuck over with and let him get it out of his system.

I took my sweet ass time as I took a piss and changed my clothes before I headed down the hallway to his office. I ignored the irritated look on his face as I sank down into the plush leather chair, ready to get this crap over with.

"What?" I asked, crossing my arms over my chest.

"What the fuck were you thinking, Edward? What the fuck are you _ever_ thinking when you pull stupid shit like this?"

I rolled my eyes. "Let's just cut the bullshit, Carlisle. What the fuck do you really want?"

"When did you turn into such an insolent little prick?"

I couldn't contain the laugh at that one. I always loved with the Good Doctor lost his composure. "I learned from the best," I sneered. "Are we done here? Is that all you really wanted to ask?"

"I'm not doing this with you anymore, Edward. You've fucked up more over the last three years than most people do in their entire lives and I've had it. I think it's time I sent you somewhere. You've left me no choice."

I rolled my eyes at his threat. We went through this after every arrest. He claimed to be at his wit's end and threaten to send me away. I'd laugh, roll my eyes, and dare him to even try before I'd stalk out of the room. It was a dance we'd done many times. And he hadn't made good on his threat yet.

"And where exactly do you plan on sending me, Carlisle? Who are you going to dump me on?" I asked, merely humoring him. We both knew this would be forgotten come morning.

"Ruby."

I laughed loudly at that one. "You've got to be fucking kidding me. That bitch is like a hundred and seventy years old. Yeah, okay Carlisle. If you're going to threaten me, you should at least pick someone who can walk."

"Ruby is very capable, Edward. But I was sure you'd react this way. That's why I've made plans for an alternative, just in case." I watched as he pulled a…brochure from his desk and slide it across the mahogany surface towards me. "It's your choice, son."

"Really Carlisle? Really?" I snorted as I shoved the brochure back to him.

"The Marine Military Academy would do you some good."

"You've got to be fucking kidding me. So it's either a fucking military academy or Ruby?" I snorted. "I'll take the old bitch any day."

"She's quite capable of handling you, Edward."

"Yeah, I'm sure."

"Regardless," he continued, ignoring me, "if you fuck up with Ruby, the fucking academy is exactly where you're going to find yourself. Maybe that'll be incentive enough to keep you from fucking up."

"You're reaching for the stars with that one, aren't you?" I rolled my eyes. "Whatever. Are we fucking done here?"

"You might want to start packing your things, son. You're leaving Tuesday."

"I can't believe you're fucking doing this. I haven't even seen that old bitch in like… ten years. Why the fuck would she even agree to this bullshit?"

"She's your grandmother, Edward."

"Man," I said as I headed for the door. "I can't wait to have kids so I can pawn them off on someone else. Must be great to be a parent."

I didn't bother to hang around and wait for his response. I stomped down the hallway to the bedroom, making as much fucking noise as possible. I knew how much he hated that shit. Once I was in the safety of my bedroom, I slammed the door, kicking it for good measure. I couldn't believe this shit.

Talk about a fucking buzz kill.

I wasn't lying when I said I hadn't seen Ruby in at least ten years. There was no reason to continue after my mother left. I always got the impression that Carlisle hated Ruby and that was pretty much confirmed when the trips to Forks had stopped after the whore was no longer around to force us to visit.

Ah, _Forks_. I hated that town. That place was the fucking bane of my existence. Further proof that Ruby was a fucking nut job, just like her whore of a daughter. Who the fuck would want to live in a virtually sunless town? That shit was depressing. And now, all because Carlisle was a fuck up as a father, I was being forced back to that place with a woman that I knew absolutely nothing about. I fell back onto the bed, closing my eyes. _Well fuck_.

**A/N: **Hope you all enjoyed the first chapter of **Saved**. As much as I love Drunk!Edward, reviews are better.


	2. Chapter Two: Ruby

**A/N: **Thanks for all the great reviews! Keep 'em coming! They're better than Angsty!Edward! **Again, toned down on the word "Fuck". Still rated for language though.**

**Chapter Two: Ruby**

**EPOV**

Monday Night

I hate my life. No, really. I grabbed another arm full of clothes from the closet and threw them onto the bed angrily, making sure to stomp my feet as hard as possible on the floor. _Take that, fucker_, I thought bitterly. Yeah, I know it's childish, but so is forcing your only fucking child to go live with a crusty ass bitch because you can't deal with him anymore.

I heard the slight rap of knuckles against my door, but I ignored that shit. There was only one fucking person it could be on the other side of that door, and I didn't have a goddamned thing to say to him. Asshat.

"Edward? I'm coming in."

I groaned. Why the fuck couldn't he take a hint? I stopped shoving clothes into the suitcase so I could turn to glare at him fully. "What the fuck do you want? I'm busy."

"I know you're not happy about this, Edward. But you left me no other choice."

"Whatever. Just… get out, Carlisle."

"Forks isn't that bad. You just have to give it a chance. Your mother… well, she actually kind of liked it."

"How fucking nice for her. That's just another reason to hate it. Now get out."

"You'll thank me one day."

"Yeah, whatever," I responded with a shake of my head as I turned back to the task at hand. When the fuck had I accumulated so many clothes? Christ, my closet was worse than any chick. What the hell? Whatever. It wasn't like I could take all of them anyway. Fucking sunless Forks. Couldn't Ruby have made a permanent home in Vegas? Maybe Los Angeles? Anywhere would have been better than fucking Forks.

I wanted to punch the wall. Don't get me wrong; I fucking hated living with Carlisle. Not that he was home enough to truly be a "hands on" parent because apparently, the hospital was more fucking entertaining than his own son. I hated it because even though he had no fucking clue who I even was, he tried to pretend like he was goddamned "Father of The Year" or some bullshit whenever anyone was within earshot and that shit drove me right up the wall. I didn't care that he was a worthless father, but he should at least own that shit.

He was no better as a parent than my whore of a mother.

In a fit of anger, I shoved the half packed suitcase off the bed before giving it a good swift kick, not giving two shits that my clothes were now scattered halfway across the room. I sank down onto the empty mattress, fisting my fingers through my hair angrily.

I was their fucking child. Their **only** fucking child, but that shit didn't matter. It hadn't stopped her from running off and it wasn't stopping him from pawning me off on this old bitch in the most depressing fucking city in the United States. Fucking bitch. Fucking Carlisle. _Fucking Forks_.

**BPOV**

Monday Night

"So what do you think?"

I glanced up at the older lady as she stood in the center of the newly arranged room, her hands on her hips and couldn't help but laugh. "I think we probably should have waited for Emmett before we moved all this heavy furniture," I teased.

She dismissed me with a wave of her hand. "Please, child. If I waited around for Emmett McCarty to do everything for me, it would never get done. Anything you want done, Bella, you'd be better off to just do it yourself. Remember that."

"I'll make a mental note."

"Good girl. Now," she said, clapping her hands together after a final glance around the bedroom, "do you see anything that I may have forgotten?"

"I think it looks perfect, Miss Ruby. I'm sure your grandson will love it."

"Well, I guess we'll find out tomorrow, now won't we?" In all the years I'd known Miss Ruby, I'd never known her to be nervous about anything. She was a 'go with the flow' kind of woman. I think that's why I liked her so much. But standing here, in the middle of the room that was to be occupied by the grandson she hadn't seen in years, there was no other word to describe her demeanor. She was nervous.

"Grandma?" I was startled out of my observation by the booming voice from below. Emmett, I realized.

"Upstairs, Em!" Miss Ruby called back as her eyes scanned the room once more. I rolled my eyes at the sound of his heavy footsteps on the stairs.

"Aw man!" He groaned as he stepped into the bedroom. "I told you guys I'd be over to help you move this stuff around! Why didn't you wait for me?"

"Because if I waited on you, it would never get done," she replied. "And don't bother looking hurt, Emmett. You know that just as well as I do."

He rolled his eyes at his grandmother, but didn't bother to hide his smile. "Yeah, yeah. Okay grandma," he teased. "But seriously, I don't know why you're going through so much trouble for him anyway. When's the last time you saw him?"

"He's still family, Emmett. And I expect you treat him as such."

I was slightly surprised at the somewhat annoyed expression that darkened Emmett's face. When I had first met Emmett, I was terrified of him until I realized that he didn't have one hateful bone in his oversized body. He was always in a good mood, always had a smile for everybody. But the mere mention of his cousin seemed to irritate him.

"Anyway," Miss Ruby said, either not seeing the scowl on Emmett's face or completely ignoring his sudden bad mood, "since you were too late to help us move, I think I'll let you buy us dinner. What do you think, Bella?"

"Oh no, Miss Ruby. I should probably get home to the Chief anyway. You know he can't even toast bread without having to call the fire department."

"Then call up old Charlie and invite him along. We'll make it a party. I'm going to go wash up," she said, patting Emmett's shoulder as she passed before giving me another smile. "Don't even think about arguing with me, Bella. You know you won't win," she called over her shoulder on her way out.

I watched as she made her way down the hallway towards her bedroom, humming tunelessly as she went. I laughed softly before turning back to Emmett, startled to see that his angered expression seemed to have intensified.

"Em, you really don't have to take us all out if you don't want to. I've got plenty of stuff at home I can fix for Charlie. Don't worry about it."

"Huh? Oh. No, don't worry about it Bells," he said, the angry scowl melting off his face to be replaced by his normal hundred watt smile. "I don't mind one bit. You should probably go call Charlie up, huh? I'll be down in the Jeep, alright?"

As I watched Emmett's retreating form, I couldn't help but wonder exactly made him so angry. "They're not fond of the idea of Edward coming to stay here," Miss Ruby said softly from behind me. I jumped at the sound of her voice. I hadn't even realized I was no longer alone. I turned, surprised at the look of irritation on her face. "They think I won't be able to handle him."

"What do you mean?"

"Edward's not like Emmett, honey. But why should he be? Emmett grew up with two loving and caring parents. I think Carlisle did his best with Edward, given the circumstances, but he looks so much like my Elizabeth that… well, of course it was hard for Carlisle to be near him. But Edward's not a bad person. He's just lost his way, I think."

"I think you're doing a wonderful thing, Miss Ruby." And I did. Though she wasn't quite as fragile as a normal woman of her age should be, she was still older. And to take in a teenager (a troubled one at that) wasn't going to be easy. But he was family. If there's one thing I knew Miss Ruby believed in above all else, it was family. It was everything to her.

"You're a good girl, Bella," she said, resting her hand on my shoulder as she gave me a smile. "But enough of all this depressing talk. Let's go spend some of Emmett's money, shall we?"

**EPOV**

Tuesday Morning: The Airport

"If there's anything you've forgotten, I'll have it shipped out overnight."

"Whatever."

"I'll be flying out in a few weeks to see how you're settling in. If you're behaving, we'll see about getting you a new car."

"Wonderful."

"If I so much as get one phone call from Ruby about you screwing up—"

"Yeah, I know Carlisle. Fucking Marine Military Academy. Got it."

I wanted to punch him in his fucking face. Really. If I thought I could do it and get away with it, I would have done it last night when he kept interrupting me to see if I needed _help_.

"Right. Well, your grandmother should be there when you get off the plane. You won't be enrolled in school until Monday, so that should give you a few days to settle in."

"Fan-fucking-tastic."

"If… if there's anything you need, just call. I'll be transferring your weekly allowance to your account on Thursdays instead of Fridays."

"Great."

"Could you at least look at me when I'm talking to you, Edward? Have some respect."

"You want fucking respect? Then earn it, Carlisle. Man up and take care of your own shit."

"You've got a lot of nerve—"

"I know I'm a fuck up, Carlisle. I don't deny that and I don't pretend otherwise. I own what I am. I don't pretend to be something I'm not for the sake of a fucking reputation, or whatever the fuck it is you're doing."

"Right." I almost felt bad at the look on his face. He looked like someone had kicked him in the nuts or something. "Well, have a good flight. I'll see you in a few weeks." I snatched my carry on bag from his hands without another word before I stalked off towards the terminal. I knew I'd upset him and it probably wasn't the best fucking idea to leave things on these terms, but whatever. I meant what I said.

"Edward?" I rolled my eyes as I turned, a scowl on my face as I scanned the thickening crowd until I found him.

"What, Carlisle?"

He hesitated slightly. "Take care of yourself, Edward."

"I have been since I was six fucking years old," I responded coldly before I turned away from him once more. That was probably a low blow but it was the goddamned truth. Ever since the whore had run off, he'd completely immersed himself in his work. Sometimes I think he forgot he even had a kid, until I started fucking up. I made sure he _couldn't _forget.

----

I was pretty sure Carlisle had played a sick fucking joke on me. I hated flying with a passion. When I was younger, I used to have panic attacks at even the thought of getting on an airplane. Generally though, as I'd gotten older, the fear had pretty much subsided. But fucking Carlisle. The flight from Chicago to Washington wasn't bad by any stretch of the imagination. There had been some hot ass flight attendants that had pretty much kept my attention for the duration of the flight and because I was properly entertained, the flight went by much quicker than anticipated.

But _Fucking Carlisle! _Seattle to Forks was, at the very least, a four hour car ride. Apparently, he'd thought I would prefer to make the trip as quickly as possible, so he'd booked me another flight from Seattle to Forks… on the _tiniest fucking plane_ I'd ever seen.

I'd never thought I would be so happy to see fucking Forks, but as the plane touched down, I practically sprinted out of that bitch, my stomach still doing flip-flops from the ride. I barely made into the bathroom of the tiny airport before I completely lost my breakfast. He was definitely getting a kick in the fucking nuts the next time I saw him. Asshat.

I stumbled out of the bathroom, still feeling pretty nauseous when I saw the old bitch. I had to admit though; she looked nowhere near as old and wrinkled as I'd pictured her to look; I was still able to recognize her from my childhood visits. Lifting my bag a little higher on my shoulder, I made my way over to her, not bothering to wipe the scowl from my face.

I saw the way her fucking face lit up when she recognized me and it almost made me feel guilty for being so irritated with her. It wasn't her fault that Carlisle was a fuck up, but whatever. I still didn't smile. "Edward?" She asked.

I wanted to make a snide ass remark, but I didn't have the heart. Or I was still afraid I was going to puke if I opened my mouth. Whatever. Regardless, I just nodded dumbly at her.

"Well alright then," she said, her smile widening to the point where I thought her face would crack. "Let's go home then."


	3. Chapter Three: Welcome To Forks

**A/N: **So, I think I cut back on the "Fucks". Not much, but there may be a slight decrease in the usage of that word. Haha. A huge thanks to everyone who's reviews thus far. You guys are great. Keep them coming! They make me write faster!

**Chapter Three: Welcome to Forks**

**EPOV**

"You haven't change a bit, you know. Well, aside from the fact that you're all grown up now, but you know what I mean." I hated small talk. I thought that if I just didn't answer her, she'd get the hint and shut the fuck up, but I was having no such luck. She just kept droning on and on and on about the most inane things. "We rearranged the room you're going to be staying in, but if you don't like it, you're free to arrange it however you'd like."

"Yeah, thanks."

"I also took the liberty of getting you some new bed linens. You still like blue, don't you?"

"You didn't have to do that. I brought my shit from home."

"Stuff."

"I'm sorry?"

"Your _stuff_ from home. I don't tolerate cursing under my roof. It's not becoming of a young man such as yourself. That's just one of my many rules."

"Whatever," I responded in a huff, crossing my arms over my chest. I could already see I was going to have issues with her.

"I know you're not happy about this arrangement, Edward, but I would hope you'd look at it as a learning experience."

"And what exactly am I supposed to be learning from this, _grandma_?" I sneered. "That it's okay to dump your kid when they become too much to deal with? Yeah, okay, lesson learned. Can I go back to Chicago now?" Fuck. I'd promised myself I wasn't going to do this. I chanced a glance in her direction and scowled at the look of pity on her face. "Don't you _dare_ look at me like that," I warned.

"I'm not looking at you like _anything_, Edward. But you, my love, have a lot to learn."

"Whatever," I responded again. I was tired of fucking talking. I turned my head to look out the window, taking in the ridiculously overgrown scenery. A light drizzle had started, coating the road. It wasn't long though until it turned into a full rain shower.

"Ah," she sighed softly. "I love a good rain. Always so cleansing." I could feel her eyes on me. "Maybe it's a sign. A chance for a new start, with a clean slate."

"Yeah, or maybe it's just an overabundance of water vapor in the air. But whatever. Your way works too," I responded with a roll of my eyes. I thought that maybe I'd offended her when she shut her fucking trap for three seconds, but of course, I could never be lucky enough for that.

"I like a good sense of humor. You've got that sarcastic way about you. That'll definitely make things interesting," she said as she turned her rickety ass old truck into the driveway of what I guessed was her house. "Well," she said with a smile as she threw the piece of shit into park. "Here we are. Home sweet home. Welcome to Forks, Edward."

_Fucking Forks._

----

"So what do you think?" She asked, holding her hands out like she was presenting me with the fucking Taj Mahal or some bullshit.

"Yeah, I guess it's not bad," I said after giving the room an appraising look. It was big, which was good. And it had an adjoining bathroom which was even better. At least I didn't have to share with her crusty old ass. I'd hate to find Polygrip smeared all over the counter or some shit.

"I'll leave you to unpack. If you need anything, just give a yell. And I'll expect you downstairs around four to help with dinner. I usually eat at six, but I figured with the time difference, four o'clock would be just fine."

"Whatever," I responded with a shrug.

"Alright then. Well, like I said, if you need anything, just holler."

I watched her retreating form with a sigh before I sank down onto the bed. What the fuck had Carlisle been thinking in sending me here? I didn't know this woman and she sure as shit didn't know me. How the hell was I supposed to seriously live with her? Yet another half assed plan not thoroughly thought out by the Good Doctor. Bastard.

It took me nearly an hour and a half to unpack the shit I'd brought with me. I had to give Ruby credit in at least one aspect; she'd promised to leave me alone to unpack and she hadn't bugged me since. I was pretty grateful for that. If I had to endure any more of her fucking small talk, I was pretty sure I'd chuck myself out the window. I was almost positive that I wouldn't be able to escape the petty conversation during dinner, but at least there I could shove enough food in my mouth that I wouldn't have to bother answering. And it wasn't like dinner had to be a lengthy affair. She would only be able to draw it out so long before I claimed exhaustion and escaped back to what was now my room; what would become my sanctuary in this depressing little town.

I checked the time against the old clock that sat atop the dresser. Three fifty six. She'd told me to be downstairs to help with dinner at four. Yeah, right. Edward Cullen in the kitchen? Right. Not going to fucking happen.

Deciding that a shower would postpone the torture for a little while longer, I grabbed a change of clothes from the newly stocked dresser and the towel I'd draped over the back of the desk chair before heading into the adjoining bathroom. I was never one for long, drawn out showers (unless _extra curricular activities_ were necessary), but that shit was heaven against my aching bones. I hadn't realized just how stiff I was until I stepped under the spray of hot water. I could feel every bit of tension leaving my body as I rested my forehead against the wall.

I hadn't meant to drag it out. _Honestly_. And when I realized I'd been in the shower for nearly a half an hour, I _almost_ felt bad for keeping Ruby waiting. _Almost_. And that shit went right out the window when I trudged downstairs and found that old kook sitting at the dining room table, her plate nearly empty.

"You don't help, you don't eat."

"What?"

"I told you to be down here at four to help with dinner. You didn't help me make it, so why should I share?"

"Are you kidding me?"

"Afraid not, sweetheart. It's a rule."

"Don't you think you can break the rule for one fucking night? I lost track of time and then I took a shower so I didn't come down here smelling like ass."

"How considerate," she responded dryly. "Still doesn't change the facts though, sweetheart. We have rules for a reason. And what did I tell you about cursing?"

"Whatever," I responded angrily. "I wasn't hungry anyway," I growled. I stalked angrily from the room, stomping as loud as possible on my way up the stairs. I slammed the door with more force than necessary and sank down onto the bed.

Carlisle was getting more than a kick to the balls the next time I saw him. That bitch was getting castrated.

**BPOV**

Later That Evening

"Miss Ruby?" I called softly, pushing the front door open.

"In here sweetheart. Come on in!"

I stepped into the foyer of the large house, closing the door gently behind me. I wasn't sure if her grandson was sleeping and the last thing I wanted to do was wake him. While it wasn't a major time change, I knew it was enough to completely throw a person's body off. I tiptoed quietly down the hallway into the family room, where I found Miss Ruby seated in her favorite chair, her old radio playing quietly.

"How did it go today?"

"Things will definitely be interesting for awhile. Thank you again for letting me borrow your truck, sweetheart."

"It's not a problem," I assured her as I sank down onto the plush couch. "Did you have any trouble out of it?"

"Of course not, child. That thing's as sturdy as a tank."

"I think it moves as slow as one too," I sighed. One of the other things I liked about Miss Ruby, aside from the fact that rarely anything ruffled her feathers, was that she was completely content just _being_. It was nothing for her to turn a radio station on and just relax. Her home was usually the place I retreated to after a particularly trying day at school.

I had just settled back against the cushions, allowing myself to become lost in the soft jazz number playing when a loud thump from overhead startled me. "What was that?"

"Edward."

"Should… somebody go check on him?"

"Of course not, dear. He's been doing it all evening. He thinks he's irritating me."

"And is he?"

"Come now, Bella. I think you know it takes a little more than a few well placed floor stomps to irritate me."

"That's true," I conceded with a nod. "But why would he be trying to purposefully irritate you?"

"He's angry with me, I suppose. He'll get over it soon enough."

I didn't know much about her other grandson, save for the bits and pieces of information I'd gathered from Emmett, but he seemed pretty ungrateful to me, and I hadn't even met him. I thought Miss Ruby was doing an incredibly generous thing by taking him in, especially given her age. But as I listened to him upstairs, stomping around on the floor like an overgrown child, I couldn't help but feel concerned for her. Perhaps her family had been correct in their assessment of the entire situation. Maybe Miss Ruby _wasn't_ the answer to whatever problem this boy had.

"He sure is making a lot of noise, isn't he?"

She shrugged, as if she hadn't noticed. "He'll understand one day," she responded with a softly, though I got the distinct impression that rather than answering me, she was merely thinking aloud.

**EPOV**

"Crazy old bitch," I murmured angrily as I paced the length of the bedroom, making sure to stomp loudly. That shit had always irritated Carlisle, but the fact that she hadn't come upstairs to demand I stop was irritating _me_. I sank down onto the bed with a huff. I wanted to call Carlisle. I wanted to yell and scream at him for sending me to this fucked up old broad's house, but I wouldn't give him the satisfaction. He'd eat that shit up, knowing how goddamned miserable I was here already.

I flopped back against the pillows, crossing my arms over my chest as my stomach growled loudly. I was pretty positive that I would be able to go downstairs and convince the old bitch to let me at least fix a bowl of cereal. I mean, I had charmed the pants off (literally) of more women than I could count. I could be pretty charming when I wanted to be, but I wouldn't give her the fucking satisfaction either.

Feeling even more irritated, I climbed off the bed and yanked the ugly blue sheets from the mattress, balling them up before throwing them in the corner. I had put them on the bed only because she'd spent her own money on them and I was sure that social security or whatever didn't have such a great payout, but fuck that shit.

_Fuck you **and **your sheets, Grandma,_ I thought bitterly before stomping over to the closet. I yanked the door open, grabbing my shit from home before throwing it on the bed. I didn't bother tucking the sheets in. I wasn't concerned with that shit. I just wanted to make sure I wouldn't freeze to death in the middle of the night.

I flopped back down onto the bed, pulling the pillow over my face. I could never be lucky enough to actually suffocate under the pillow; just like I hadn't been lucky enough to crash my car hard enough, or drink enough alcohol to poison my blood. It wasn't for lack of trying though, goddamn it. I tried.

With a groan, I rolled over, hoping that the mattress would stifle the angry growls of my stomach as I closed my eyes. It was the first time in awhile, I realized, that I'd have to try and fall asleep without the help of either copious amounts of alcohol or various narcotics (both legal and illegal).

I thought it would be difficult to succumb to sleep, but it wasn't long before my eyelids grew heavy and I drifted off.

**RuPOV**

I pushed the door to the bedroom open, unable to stop the smile at the soft snores emitting from the overgrown child that was sprawled out on the bed. His lanky body covered the majority of the mattress, his comforter pooled on the floor at the foot of the bed. As quietly as possible, I crossed the floor to the crumpled heap before I picked it up, covering him carefully.

I laughed quietly to myself when I spotted the bed sheets I'd bought him, balled up and tossed in the corner. I thought about at the very least folding them up so that they didn't wrinkle, but then he'd know I'd been in his room. I wasn't sure, but I figured he wouldn't take too kindly to his old grandmother creeping into his room in the middle of the night to tidy up, so I left them as they were.

In sleep, he reminded me so much of the little boy that had stolen my heart from the moment he was born. He looked almost peaceful, that hateful scowl absent from his face. I reached out tentatively, brushing his unruly hair back from his face. My heart broke as he leaned into the touch, craving it even in his sleep.

"You'll understand someday, sweetheart," I whispered quietly as I turned to leave him. I paused once more at the doorway when I heard his quiet sigh, afraid I'd woken him. He snuggled deeper into his blanket, his eyes still closed as he slept on. Confidant that I had not woken him, I sighed with relief. "Sleep well, my darling."

**A/N: **Haha. So I originally planned on just doing EPOV/BPOV because I generally hate when people are writing a story using ninety million POVs. But Ruby is just too fierce to not include periodically, so I tossed a bit of her in at the end to show she's not quite as much of a hardass as she seems during EPOV.

As much as I love **Sleepy!Edward**, I love **reviews** even more, so _dazzle _me.


	4. Chapter Four: First Impressions

**A/N: **So, with the help of vjgm, I've gone through through the first three chapters and toned them down as far as my gratuitous use of the word "Fuck". This was done in an effort to get my story accepted at Twilighted, so if you feel so inclined, feel free to go back and re-read. It may be easier to follow without so much profanity.

That being said, sorry it took me so long to update this chapter. I kind of hate it, but I wanted to get the first meeting between Edward/Bella over with. It's kind of just a filler thing.

**Chapter Four: First Impressions**

**EPOV**

Wednesday Morning

"Rise and shine, sweet cheeks."

"You have got to be kidding me," I groaned, rolling over in the bed, pulling the blanket over my head. "The sun hasn't even come up yet."

"That's Forks for you, honey. The sun almost _never_ comes up. Come on. You can't lay in bed all day."

"I could if you'd get out and stop talking."

"Come on sweetheart. We'll go get some breakfast."

"For the love of GOD let me sleep!" I moaned, pulling the pillow over my head.

I wanted to scream when I felt the warm covers being ripped from my body. "You have ten minutes to get ready. If you're not downstairs, then you don't eat."

And just like that, she was gone. With a loud growl, I pushed myself up on my elbow, squinting my eyes in the darkened room for the clock.

"You have got to be fucking kidding me," I spat bitterly. It wasn't even fucking six o'clock yet. Granted, it was nearly eight back in Chicago, but _fuck_! I punched the pillow away from my body, knowing that even though I _desperately _wanted to, there was no way in hell I was going back to sleep now.

It took me less than a minute to strip out of my pajama pants, grab the jeans that were laying in a pile beside the desk chair and yank them angrily over my hips. I grabbed an old black t-shirt from the dresser and threw it on, but I didn't even bother with my hair. I had learned from a young age that I had the world's most unmanageable hair, especially when time constraints didn't give me a chance to shower. So I grabbed a hat from the closet and threw it on before heading downstairs, stomping the whole way.

"Ah," the wench greeted, a stupid smile on her old ass face. "You're learning."

"Yeah, whatever. Can we go now?"

"We're waiting for our ride."

"What? What about your rickety as—uh, your old truck?"

"I borrowed it."

"You don't have a car?"

"Never had much use for one."

"Are you kidding me? Well, how am I supposed to get around?"

"The same way I do. You'll walk if the weather permits, or you'll catch a ride with your cousin. You remember Emmett, don't you sweetheart?"

Ugh. Of course I remembered Emmett. Even as a child, he was obnoxiously loud. I never looked forward to visits with his family. I couldn't imagine that much had changed over the course of the years. Once a pain in the ass, always a pain in the ass. This old bitch had proved that.

"Is he picking us up now?"

"Oh no. Emmett's never up this early, dear." I didn't even try to hide my fucking snort. "But then again, Emmett doesn't live under my roof. My house, my rules."

"Whatever," I grumbled angrily. This shit wasn't fair. With every second I spent in this fucking house, the Marine Military Academy was looking better and better.

The loud rumble of an engine sounded from outside, startling me slightly.

"She's here. Let's go."

She looked like she wanted to put her arm around my shoulder or something, so I stalked out of the hallway ahead of her, not willing to give her the opportunity. I didn't want her old ass touching me. I pulled the front door open, groaning when I saw that goddamned truck again. Couldn't she pick friends that had nicer rides? Christ.

"I'm not sitting in the middle," I called over my shoulder. The last thing I wanted was to be squeezed in between two old bats.

"That's fine with me," she responded, closing the front door as she stepped out onto the porch. I started towards the truck when the sound of her voice stopped me. "Edward?"

"What?" I asked, not bothering to look at her.

"I expect you to be nice."

"Yeah whatever."

"I mean it," she warned.

"Fine! Jesus, I got it the first time you said it!"

I didn't miss the warning glance she threw me as she brushed passed before she pulled the heavy ass, rusted door open. "Good morning sweetheart!"

"Good morning, Miss Ruby." The sound of the voice threw me for a loop for a minute. It sure as shit didn't have that… weird ass wavering quality that most old people had.

"Edward? Are you coming, sweetheart?"

The sound of Ruby's voice snapped me from my thoughts as I trudged over to the truck. _Please don't fucking let anyone important see me in this rusted ass piece of shit_, I prayed to the non-existent God above.

"Edward, this is Bella. Bella, this is my grandson, Edward."

The girl in the driver's seat was nothing like I expected. I had been pretty sure that only old ass people ever got up this fucking early to go eat breakfast for senior specials or whatever, but she looked to be about my age. My first impression of her was that she was pretty, but not in the usual way. My standards of 'pretty' usually consisted of blonde and tan. She was neither, but there was _something_ about her.

In an effort to not seem like a complete fucking weirdo, I forced my gaze away from her as I climbed into the cab of the truck beside the old woman.

"Hey, what's up?" I greeted casually, as I pulled the door closed behind me.

At the lack of a response, I chanced another glance in her direction and found her hands gripping the steering wheel, her knuckles white. Her cheeks were flushed, and she made absolutely no move to even put the truck in drive. Okay. Apparently, she was a fucking weirdo. And possibly retarded.

I wanted to ask Ruby what the fuck she was doing hanging around mentally challenged teenagers, but before I got the opportunity, the weirdo seemed to realize that we were still sitting in front of the house, because she slammed the truck into drive, popping the clutch and effectively stalling the piece of shit.

I coughed into my hand to cover up my laugh as she mumbled an apology and started the truck again, the blush on her face darkening. She stalled the truck three more times before she finally got her shit straight and pulled away from the curb. I _really _tried not to laugh at her, I swear. I knew it was rude. Ruby had elbowed me several times to make sure I was aware that I was _not_ being nice by laughing, but seriously. It wasn't that fucking difficult to drive a manual transmission, and this weirdo made it seem like fucking rocket science.

I just prayed that the rest of the girls in this town were significantly _less_ weird.

**BPOV**

My first impression of Edward Cullen was that he was perfect. This assessment was, of course, based purely on his physical appearance because the minute he opened his mouth, I formed acompletely different opinion of him. _Jerk_ was the first word that came to mind, actually.

As if the whole incident in the truck wasn't bad enough, it got worse. It _always_ gets worse. The actual _breakfast_ part went off without a hitch. There was an awkward silence between the time we ordered and the time we got our food, but it wasn't so bad. No, the trouble didn't start until after we'd finished eating.

I was probably the world's clumsiest person. No, I'm not exaggerating; it's a fact. Anyway, as I was sliding out of the booth to go pay our bill, my stupid foot got caught in the table leg and before I could even process what was happening, I was sprawled out, face down, on the linoleum.

It was definitely not my most graceful moment.

I didn't care that he laughed at me. I was used to that, with having Emmett as a friend. Emmett's day wasn't complete unless he saw me do a face-plant or smack my head into something. I didn't even care that he didn't offer to help me off the floor.

What changed my opinion about Edward Cullen was the question he asked Miss Ruby when he thought I was out of earshot.

"Is she retarded?"

It was stupid to get so upset over that ignorant question. Really, it was and I know that. But it stung and there wasn't much I could do about it. Needless to say, I was more than relieved when the whole fiasco was over with.

Pulling into the parking lot of the school, I immediately spotted Emmett, leaning casually against his Jeep, no doubt waiting to hear how the morning went. Unfortunately, he was not alone.

I'd known Alice Brandon almost as long as I'd known Emmett, and aside from him, she was my best friend. The three of us had been nearly inseparable and with Alice and Emmett, no subject was taboo.

Jasper and Rosalie Hale were the newest addition to our clique. They'd moved to Forks from Los Angeles just last year and almost immediately became a part of our small group. But I suppose that was to be expected when Alice claimed that Jasper was her soul mate at first glance and Rosalie practically attached herself to Emmett at the lips…or pelvic regions, as the case may be.

"So," he greeted in his booming voice as I climbed from the cab of the truck. "How did this morning go?"

"Ugh," I responded, "you don't even want to know."

"That bad, huh?"

"Well, your cousin is… he's different."

Though I was slightly hurt by Edward's apparent opinion of me, I thought it would be unfair to voice _my _opinion of him to people that didn't even know him. It had to be hard enough for him to start over in such a small town; I knew from a first hand experience how difficult it was, being a transplant myself. I didn't want to make things any harder on him than necessary.

"Well, if he looks anything like Emmett, he can't be all that bad. Is he hot, Bella?" Leave it to Rosalie to concern herself with his looks.

Regardless of how shallow I found the question to be, I couldn't help the slight blush that crept onto my cheeks. "He's… well, he's not bad, I guess."

"For God's sake, Bella! We need details, girl!"

"Leave her alone, Rose. You know how flustered she gets when it comes to the opposite sex," Alice teased, nudging me playfully.

"Alright, alright. We've reached our quota for teasing Bella for the morning. Let's save some of it for after lunch," Jasper, bless his soul, said as he dropped his hands onto Alice's shoulders.

We made our way across the parking lot, as my friends chatted happily with one another, Emmett's cousin forgotten by this point. I allowed my thoughts to drift back to Edward momentarily as we walked. One thing was for sure when it came to the sullen boy: the female popular of Forks High School was definitely in for a treat when he started… as long as he didn't open his mouth.

**A/N: **As much as I love **Asshole!Edward **and the gang, I love **reviews **even more! Dazzle me!


	5. Chapter Five: Forks High School

**A/N: Alright! Now listen here! I see all you people who are adding my story to your alerts and then not reviewing! A LACK OF REVIEWS MAKES THE BABY JESUS CRY! So review, dammit! **

**To those of you who already are, there are no words to describe my undying love for y'all. You make me smile every time I open my email!  
**

**Chapter Five: Forks High School (Welcome to Hell)**

**EPOV**

Monday Morning

"Edward? Time to get up, sweetheart."

I groaned at the sound of Ruby's voice, but did not argue. I knew it would do no good; this was a routine we'd been doing since I'd come here. While there had been no breakfast excursions with that retarded girl, Ruby still insisted I get up at the ass crack of dawn. I had fought her on it the first few times, but it wasn't long before I realized resistance was futile.

I was never able to get back to sleep anyway.

"You go on and get ready for school, honey. Breakfast will be waiting when you come down," she said before she backed out of the room, closing the door behind her.

School. _Fuck_. I'd almost forgotten about that. I kicked the covers from my body and climbed from the warmth of the bed, cringing as my feet touched the cold hardwood floor. This was going to be a long ass day.

I grabbed my clothes from the dresser and stumbled sleepily into the bathroom, rubbing a hand over my tired face.

_Definitely need to shave today,_ I noted as I checked my reflection in the mirror before I turned on the hot water of the shower. I stripped out of my pajamas before I stepped under the hot spray. It was pretty pathetic, but my morning showers had become my favorite part of the day. No, _really_. It was pretty much the only time that I had any privacy.

I definitely wasn't used to having an adult hover over me, as Carlisle was basically never around. But fucking Ruby! I couldn't get rid of her! Everywhere I turned, she was there! That shit got old real quick, but there was nothing I could do about it. I never thought I'd say it, but I was actually almost looking _forward_ to school, just to get away from her old ass for a few hours.

By the time I finished with the shower, I wasn't sure how much time I had before I had to leave for school, so I didn't even bother trying to tame the hair. It would have been pointless anyway. I dressed in a pair of jeans and a dark blue long sleeved shirt. I grabbed a hoodie, just to be safe, before I headed downstairs.

"Are you positive you don't want me to call Emmett and have him swing by to pick you up?" Ruby asked as I sank down into the kitchen chair.

"Yeah, positive," I snorted. "I'll walk. It's fine."

"Well, if it starts to rain, make sure to catch a ride with him this afternoon. I don't want you getting sick."

"It's fine," I reiterated, grabbing my glass of juice to take a sip. "Do I have time to eat?"

"Of course. You'll be fine on time," she promised, setting a plate of eggs and bacon in front of me. "Did you want me to fix you a sandwich for lunch?"

"No thanks," I mumbled, my mouth full. " I'll just grab something from there if I get hungry."

"If you need anything, you just give me a call. But make sure you keep your phone in your bag during class."

"Yeah, I know. I _have _been to school before."

"Are you _sure_ you don't want me to call Emmett?"

"Jesus, I just told you I'll be fine!" I shoved my chair back from the table, my half eaten plate of eggs and bacon forgotten. I couldn't sit here and listen to this shit anymore. I had to get out of here.

"You haven't finished eating."

"I'm full," I grumbled as I stalked out of the kitchen, grabbing my book bag out of the hallway. "I'll be back later," I called as I stepped onto the front porch, pulling the door closed behind me harder than necessary.

Shivering slightly in the chilly morning air, I dropped my bag to porch and pulled my hoodie over my head. I couldn't believe that I actually had to _walk_. Me, Edward Fucking Cullen! What the hell? Whatever. With a sigh, I stomped off the front porch, ready to get this fucking day over with.

I hadn't even made it half a mile when the goddamn drizzle started. _Just my fucking luck_, I thought bitterly as I pulled the hood up over my head, scowling angrily. Fucking Forks.

I was so busy grumbling to myself about this depressing ass weather that I didn't even hear the loud rumble of the truck behind me. I didn't even realize I was no longer alone until I heard her voice.

"Hey…um… Edward, right? Do you want a ride?"

I glanced up front under my hood, looking over at the retarded girl in the truck. I wondered briefly if she'd even be able to navigate the monstrous thing in this weather when she seemed unable to do so on a perfectly dry day, but it didn't really matter. At least I wouldn't get to school looking like a drowned rat. So with a shrug, I pulled the heavy door open, tossing my bag into the floor before I climbed in.

"Thanks," I mumbled as I rolled the window up, shivering slightly. "Is the weather always like this in this fucking town?"

"This is mild for Forks, I think," she responded as she eased off the clutch, pulling away from the side of the road. I was almost impressed. Maybe she wasn't retarded after all. "I guess you're not a fan of the rain?"

"Does _anybody_ like the rain?"

"It's not so bad," she said with a half shrug. Okay, not retarded, but definitely weird. "It's the snow I can't stand. I'd take rain over snow and ice every day."

"Does it snow a lot here?"

"All the way up until March."

"Fucking perfect," I sighed, crossing my arms over my chest with a huff. "Hey, what was your name again?"

"Uh, Isabella Swan. Well, I don't go by Isabella. I kind of hate being called that actually. Only my mom calls me that when I'm in trouble. But I go by Bella mostly. Sometimes 'Bells' by my dad and Emmett, but mostly just Bella."

I wondered if she knew she was fucking rambling.

"I'm sorry," she grimaced. "I'm rambling. I do that a lot." I almost laughed at the deep blush that crept onto her cheeks, but I kept quiet. At least she knew she was talking too fucking much. I would have hated to have to point it out. People usually hated that shit. "Um… but Forks really isn't so bad. It took me awhile to get used to it when I moved here a few years ago."

"Yeah well, I'm hoping I'm not here long enough to 'get used to it'," I mumbled.

She fell silent at my declaration. I heard her sigh softly as she turned her truck into the parking lot of the school. It wasn't what I'd imagined at all. Back in Chicago, all the high schools were pretty much the same; one huge building surrounded by chain link fences with metal detectors at every door. This place didn't even _look_ like a high school. There were several small, nondescript buildings, each with a number painted over the door. The only reason I even knew it was Forks High was because of the sign as we entered the parking lot.

"Welcome to Forks High School."

**BPOV**

"Welcome to Forks High School," I said, giving him as small smile as I threw the truck into park and pulled the key from the ignition.

"Yeah, thanks," he grumbled as he pushed the door open and slid out of the cab, grabbing his bag from the floor. "Uh, where can I find the main office?"

"It's in building five. I'm heading that way anyway, so I could show you if you wanted?"

"Sure," he responded with a shrug as he slammed the rusty door. I grabbed my bag off the seat and pushed my door open, cringing as I slid out of the warm cab into the chilly morning air. I pulled my hood up over my head as I made my way around the truck, careful not to trip. I'd made a fool of myself in front of Edward the last time I'd seen him, and I wasn't eager to do it again.

As we walked, I spotted Alice and Rosalie nudging each other and whispering. I did everything in my power to keep from making eye contact with them as we passed.

"Well," I said as we approached building five, "the uh… the main office is right in there. Uh, the lunch room is in building seven and the gym is building three."

"Yeah, thanks," he responded again.

"I guess… well, I guess I'll see you later then." I gave him a small wave as I turned, praying to God that Mr. Varner got started right away so I didn't have to answer any uncomfortable questions from Rosalie or Alice.

"Uh… Hey Bella!"

I turned at the sound of his voice, eyes wide. "Huh?"

"Thanks for the ride to school."

----

"We _saw _you pull up with him in your truck, Isabella Swan! Give us details! What happened?"

"Nothing happened, Rose! I swear! I was on my way to school and it had started to rain and he was walking! So I pulled over and asked if he wanted a ride!"

"What was he like? Does he smell good?"

I rolled my eyes at her. "He was quiet. And what kind of question _is_ that? Does it matter how he smells?"

"Of **course** it does! This is all very important information!"

"Do you think he'll sit with us at lunch?" Alice asked with a hopeful sigh.

"I don't think your **boyfriends** would be too happy to hear you discussing Edward like he's a piece of meat or something. _Especially_ Emmett," I said pointedly.

"Whatever. I'm allowed to look as long as there's no touching involved, thank you very much."

"And Jasper is confident enough in our relationship that it wouldn't bother him."

"You two are hopeless," I said with a shake of my head as I brushed passed them into the now empty hallway.

"Come on, Bella! You've got to give us _something_!"

"There's nothing to tell!"

"Ugh. I swear to God, you are such a prude," Rosalie complained. "You had the newest piece of meat in the entire town in your ugly ass old truck this morning, and you didn't even **try** to take advantage of that? Have I taught you _nothing_?"

"Just drop it, okay?"

Rosalie looked very much like she had no intention of dropping it, but as we stepped out into the rain, we were met by Emmett and Jasper and she really had no other choice. She was well aware of Emmett's opinion on his cousin and in an effort to keep from angering him, she dropped the subject. Unfortunately, Emmett wasn't as ignorant of the situation as I'd hoped.

"Cozying up to the enemy, are we?" He asked casually as he draped his arm around Rosalie's shoulder, pulling her against his side.

"Give me a break, Em. I gave him a ride to school. Last time I checked, that wasn't a crime. And what's with this 'enemy' stuff? He's your family."

"Yeah," he snorted. "Not by choice, let me assure you."

"You're being ridiculous," I mumbled hoisting my bag up higher on my shoulder. "It was just a ride to school."

I didn't know what Emmett's problem was when it came to his cousin. I wasn't sure why he was apparently still holding a grudge from childhood, but it didn't matter. I had promised myself that I wasn't going to base my opinion of Edward Cullen off of anything that Emmett had to say about him.

Sure, he'd rubbed me the wrong way the first day I met him, but maybe he was having an off day; heck, maybe he was having an off _year_. But it didn't matter. I planned on treating him like I treated everyone else until he gave me a reason not to.

**EPOV**

This place was shit. And to think, I'd been disgruntled with the education system in Chicago! Forks High made my old school look like fucking Harvard or some shit. Christ. The first class crept by at a goddamned snail's pace and the second class wasn't ending any faster. The only thing that even kept me remotely entertained was the fresh meat.

Back in Chicago, I'd had nearly every piece of available ass in my grade. No, seriously. But the problem was, after awhile, that shit got old. You could only fuck a bitch so many times before you longed for something different. But here… well, let's just say that the variety would be enough to sustain me for awhile, at least.

When the bell rang, signaling the end of my second period hell, I shoved my chair back from my desk and stood, grabbing my bag. I yanked my wrinkled schedule from my back pocket, squinting my eyes at the tiny writing for my next class.

**Art. Building Three. Miss Platt.**

_Great_, I thought bitterly as I shoved the paper back into my pocket. I hated art with a passion. It was the biggest waste of time. But at least it would be an easy fucking "A", of that I was sure.

"Hi!" I glanced up at the overly friendly voice, and was met by a pile of curly blonde hair. "You're Edward Cullen, right? Emmett's cousin?"

"Uh, yeah."

"It's nice to finally meet you. I'm Jessica Stanley."

"Yeah, nice to meet you."

"Where are you headed now?" She asked.

"Um, art in building three with Platt."

"Ugh," she grimaced. "Platt's a real bitch. I feel sorry for you."

I snorted, rolling my eyes. Fucking beautiful. Maybe that "A" wouldn't be so easy after all.

"But I'm heading down to building two, so I'll walk with you. I mean, if that's okay," she said, biting her lower lip as she blinked up at me through her lashes. Well, at least _this_ one would definitely be easy.

----

"Art with Miss Platt, huh?"

I turned at the sound of the familiar voice as I stepped out of the art building, nodding dumbly. "Yeah."

"You're lucky. She's a really sweet woman."

I offered Bella as casual shrug as she fell into step beside me. "Yeah, I guess she wasn't too bad. We'll see though. I heard she's a pretty big bitch."

"How are you making out so far?"

"Well, the female population certainly seems friendly enough," I responded with a smirk as we entered the lunch building. "I already got three offers to help me with… ah, any _extra credit assignments_."

"Oh, well that was nice," she responded sincerely, eliciting a snort from me. Okay, not retarded, but definitely weird and definitely naive. "Um… I didn't know if maybe you wanted to sit with me at lunch. Well, not just me, but my friends too. They're all really nice and Rosalie and Alice asked if I thought you would be sitting with us so I thought I should probably—"

"Bella," I interrupted impatiently, "get to the fucking point. You're rambling again."

"Right," she responded, that damn pink color tinting her cheeks again. "Right. I'm sorry. Edward, would you like to join me and my friends at our usual table for lunch?"

Before I had the opportunity to respond, a shrill voice called my name, causing me to turn my head. From across the room, Jessica Stanley was waving frantically, motioning for me to join her.

"Oh," she said quietly. "Right. You'll probably want to go sit with Jessica and her friends," she said with a nod. "Okay. Well, I should uh… I should probably get to my table. But um… if you need a ride after school… just uh… just meet me at my truck."

"Sure, thanks," I responded, as I set off across the cafeteria to join Stanley and her group of friends. Giving her my best charming smile, I sank down into the hard plastic chair beside her. Maybe I could get used to this place after all.

**A/N: **As much as I love **Pompous!Edward, **I love **reviews** even more! So **dazzle** me! =)


	6. Chapter Six: Family

**A/N: **Okay, we've done much better with the reviews, but they are _exactly _my brand of heroin and I **need** them! So give them to me! Let's see if we can get into the triple digits!

This chapter is not my favorite. Again, it's kind of a transition thing.

**Chapter Six: Family**

**BPOV**

I tried really hard to ignore the twinge of disappointment as I watched Edward Cullen climb into the passenger side of Jessica Stanley's beat up old Toyota. I tried not to stare too hard as she drove past my truck and I tried to ignore the triumphant smile she gave me. I swear to God, I tried. It just didn't work out too well.

"I cannot believe he's letting Jessica Stanley drive him around. **Jessica Stanley,** of all people!"

At least Alice was just as incredulous about the whole thing as I was. It made me feel slightly less pathetic.

"I personally wouldn't be caught in such a piece of crap," Rosalie said with a shrug as she picked at her nails. "I mean, no offense to the piece of crap owners of the world, Bella included, but ew. At least Bella's truck is a classic."

"I mean, I don't really_ care _that he's letting Jessica Stanley drive him anywhere or anything, but it's just that I find it to be really rude, especially after I offered him a ride. What if I had been coming out of school at the exact moment that she drove off in her ugly car and I had not seen that he was with her? I would have never known he didn't need a ride and then I would have been stuck here waiting forever for him!"

With an exasperated sigh, I pulled the door of my truck open and threw my backpack in. "I need to get home to The Chief," I said as I brushed my hair out of my face. "I'll see you guys tomorrow, okay?"

I climbed into the cab of my truck, pulling the heavy door closed behind me as I watched Rosalie and Alice glide gracefully across the parking lot. I never knew how I managed to fit in with the two of them. They were so different from me.

I shoved the key into the ignition, but before I could put truck in first gear, a loud thump sounded from my left. Startled, I turned my head and was met with a goofy Emmett grin. "What do you want, Em?" I asked as I rolled the window down. "I need to get home to Charlie."

"I just wanted to talk to you for a minute."

"So then talk."

"The thing is, Bells… I know I'm probably coming off like a caveman when it comes to you and Cullen, but I just… You're a good girl. I think of you as my sister and of course, I'm going to do anything to protect you."

"Maybe you should be having this talk with Jessica Stanley," I mumbled bitterly.

"I don't care about Jessica Stanley. Listen, I've heard some stories about _him_ and I know it's not like me at all to judge someone based purely on stories, but I don't want to take a chance. It's bad enough that Grandma taking everything so lightly… I don't want you to do the same."

"Look Emmett, I really appreciate your concern, but there's really nothing to worry about, okay? Even if I was interested, **which I'm not**, it's not like that. He obviously prefers the Jessica Stanleys of the world. I'm just trying to be nice. And it might not hurt you to do the same. It's okay to be cautious of him, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't be friendly. You're the only family he has in this school."

"I know," he said with a sigh as he ran his fingers through his curly hair. "I'll try to tone down the jerkiness if you'll promise me that you won't… fall for any of his lines or something, okay? It'll be easier to be nice to him if I don't have to worry about him taking advantage of you."

"I promise," I said with a nod. "But you really don't have to worry about me, Em. I'm a big girl. I can take care of myself."

"Yeah, yeah," he grinned with a dismissive wave of his hand. "But seriously Bells. You know that I love you and I just want what's best for you."

"I know, Emmett. Really. But I promise, you don't have to worry about that, okay?"

"Good."

"Now do me a favor, huh? Why don't you go over there tonight and make peace with him? You'd really be making Miss Ruby happy if she thought you were trying to get along with him."

"Yeah," he sighed. "I figured I was going to have to do that sooner or later anyway. I guess I should probably just do it and get it over with."

"That's the spirit," I grinned. "And Em?"

"Hm?"

"Thanks for looking out for me."

**EPOV**

_Oh yeah, she's definitely going to be easy_, I decided as I climbed from Jessica Stanley's Toyota, giving her a smile. She practically melted whenever I even looked at her. "Thanks for the ride Jess."

"You're welcome," she responded, batting her eyelashes at me flirtatiously. "I'll see you tomorrow, Edward."

_Easy _doesn't even begin to cover it. I stood at the curb, watching until she had turned the corner before I headed into the house. _Forks isn't so bad after all_, I thought with a smirk as kicked the front door closed behind me.

"Edward? Is that you?" Ruby called from somewhere in the house. I rolled my eyes; who else would it be?

"Yeah," I responded, dropping my bag behind the door. I glanced up when she came out of the kitchen, wiping her hands on a dish towel.

"How was school?"

"It was okay."

"You didn't have any trouble?"

"No."

"Good. Did you get Emmett to give you a ride home?"

"No. I caught a ride with a girl in a couple of my classes."

"What girl?"

"Jessica Stanley." I didn't miss the look of distaste on Ruby's face, but I ignored it. _All the more reason to keep her around_, I thought bitterly as I started up the stairs.

"Edward?"

"What?" I asked, rolling my eyes. I didn't bother to turn around.

"Aren't you forgetting something?"

With a groan, I turned and stomped back down the stairs, snatching my bag off the floor. _Okay_, I amended, _Forks isn't so bad as long as I'm not __**here**_.

"Happy?" I asked angrily.

"Almost," she responded, sounding almost amused. "Your cousin is coming over for dinner. So get your homework done and then get down here."

"Whatever," I said, stomping back up the stairs. Once I was in the safety of my bedroom, I threw my bag into the corner and closed the door, resisting the urge to slam it. I stalked over to the bed and sank down on the comfortable mattress. I wasn't concerned with homework; I would just catch up to Jessica in the morning and copy hers.

Laying back on the bed, I closed my eyes, rubbing a hand over my face. I wasn't looking forward to sitting through dinner with King Kong and that crazy old wench. There were a million and three things I'd rather do than sit down there with the two of them.

With a loud groan, I rolled over onto my stomach, pulling the pillow over my head.

----

I thought about feigning exhaustion just to get out of sitting through dinner with my cousin and grandmother, but I knew Ruby would never buy it. So I sucked it up and trudged downstairs with a promise to myself that as soon as my plate was empty, I was gone, whether she liked it or not.

"All done with your homework, sweetheart?" Ruby asked without turning.

"Yeah," I responded with a sigh. "What do you want me to do?"

"Go ahead and mash those potatoes. Emmett should be here soon."

"Wonderful," I grumbled as I made my way over to the stove. If she caught my sarcasm, she certainly didn't say anything.

After the potatoes were mashed, I carried the bowl to the table before making my way back into the kitchen. "Do I have to do anything else?"

"No, I think I'm just about done. Why don't you go wash up?"

Not needing to be told twice, I hurried out of the kitchen and back upstairs. I wasn't looking forward to dinner. While, granted, I had caught a glimpse of Emmett at lunch, I hadn't seen or talked to him in ten years, but from what I could remember, we were polar opposites.

He was always a huge fucker, even when we were kids and from what I could tell, not much had changed in that department. We'd actually gotten along fairly well, from what I could recall, but that didn't matter. Things were too different now.

After washing up, I headed back downstairs, inwardly cringing when I heard Emmett's booming voice from the kitchen. _Guess some things never change_, I thought. He was still loud as hell. This was going to be a nightmare.

----

"So what do you think of Forks High so far?"

Fucking small talk. He must have picked that up from Ruby. "It's not so bad, I guess."

The plan had been to eat as quickly as possible and then to make my escape. But Jesus Christ, he talked more than our grandmother did. I'd tried three times to get up and leave and every time I came close, he'd start talking again.

"Yeah, when my girlfriend first moved here, she hated it. She's not a fan of small towns anyway, but you kind of get used to it after awhile."

"Yeah, that's what Bella said this morning." I didn't miss the look on his face at the mention of Bella. "But like I told her, I hope I'm not here long enough to 'get used to it'," I said with a shrug.

"Uh… right," he said with a nod. "Well, I should probably get out of here. I promised Rose I'd stop by for a few minutes before I headed home."

_Finally_, I thought, but I nodded and stood, rubbing my hands on my pants.

"Listen, if you have any questions or anything about school… well, I saw you were sitting with Jessica Stanley today, but if you wanted to sit with us… that'd be cool with me."

"Yeah, thanks."

"It was good talking to ya, cuz."

"Yeah, you too Emmett," I said, though I didn't really mean it. There were other things I could have been doing, like Jessica for instance, but it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Sure, he talked entirely too much, but it wasn't too painful I guess.

"Grandma!" Emmett called. Ruby had disappeared awhile ago to give us an opportunity to "talk" or whatever and had yet to reappear. However, at the booming sound of Emmett's voice, she poked her head into the dining room. "Hey," he greeted with a smile.

"You boys doing okay?" She asked.

"Just fine," he responded. "I just wanted to let you know that I needed to get out of here. I've got some homework left to catch up on."

"Oh, alright sweetheart," she responded, stepping into the room. She wrapped her arms around his broad frame in a hug before she pulled away. "I'm glad you came by tonight, sweetheart."

"Yeah, I am too," he said, his smile widening before he turned to me. "Uh, if you want a ride in the morning, I could swing by and pick you up on my way to school."

"Yeah, that would be cool. Thanks," I said with a nod. I wasn't really looking forward to spending the ride to school with him, but I hadn't asked Jessica to pick me up or anything, and there was no way I could be sure that Bella would be there to me up if it was raining.

While he and Ruby said their goodbyes, I started carrying the dirty dishes into the kitchen to be washed. I just wanted to get this shit over with so I could get upstairs. I'd had enough company for one night, and wanted nothing more than to be alone.

I didn't even hear Ruby when she came in behind me. "You look tired."

"Yeah, I guess I am."

"Why don't you go on upstairs then? I can finish up in here."

With a shrug, I dropped the plate into the sink before I headed out of the kitchen. I didn't get very far when I was stopped by her voice. "Your father called for you this afternoon. Before you got home from school. Maybe you should give him a call."

"Yeah," I snorted. "I'll get right on that."

I made it upstairs and into the room before I closed the door. I sank down onto my bed and closed my eyes as I flopped back against the pillows, the phone call that was never going to happen forgotten.

**A/N: **As much as I love **Emmett/Edward**, I love **reviews **more. So **dazzle **me.


	7. Chapter Seven: The Gang's All Here

**A/N: **I swear to the BABY JESUS that a long chapter is coming up soon (probably next chapter!). But I needed to throw in a couple more things, so this is kind of a transition chapter too! Plus, I was excited to update because of all the **AWESOME REVIEWS** I got for the last chapter! So, that being said, enjoy this chapter. I had fun writing it! =) **WOOHOO FOR 69 REVIEWS! Edward would be proud!**

**Chapter Seven: The Gang's All Here**

**EPOV**

I stumbled down the front porch, bleary eyed and irritated. I hadn't slept worth shit, and of course, Ruby barged in at the ass-crack of dawn, waking me from the fitful slumber I'd suffered through all night. I trudged tiredly over the sidewalk to the curb, where my overgrown gorilla of a cousin waited patiently in his ridiculously huge Jeep.

I pulled the door open, throwing my bag into the pack before I climbed into the passenger side, leaning my head back against the rest.

"Wow," Emmett greeted cheerfully, "you look like hell!"

My first instinct was to tell him to go fuck himself, but walking to school wasn't high up on my list of priorities, so I kept my mouth shut and opted to send him a pointed glare instead. He, of course, didn't get the point so I scowled. "Are you always this goddamned cheerful?"

He seemed to think about that for a minute before he nodded and threw the Jeep in to drive. "Yeah. Yeah, I guess I am."

"Great," I mumbled, closing my eyes. My head was throbbing and I was completely fucking exhausted from lack of a good sleep. The first few nights, I'd had no problem falling asleep in my new bedroom, but now, I was having the same goddamned problem sleeping that I'd had back in Chicago.

I could feel the Jeep jerk to a stop beneath me as Emmett stomped his heavy ass foot on the brake, so I forced my eyes open, scowling at him. I didn't miss the obnoxious grin on his face as he turned the key, killing the engine. I turned in the seat and yanked my bag out of the back before I threw I door the open. "Thanks for the ride," I grumbled as I slid from the vehicle.

"Hey wait a minute," he called as he did the same, slamming the door behind him. From where I stood, I saw Jessica Stanley waving from her place beside her car. I waved my hand in greeting before I dropped it, cringing when Emmett clapped me hard on the back.

"What the fuck?"

"Before you trot off to suck face with Stanley or whatever, come say hello the rest of the gang. I don't think you got a chance to meet them yesterday."

I rolled my eyes and groaned inwardly, but I didn't resist as he practically shoved me in the direction of the monstrous red truck that I was becoming familiar with. I hadn't noticed the little group that had congregated at the rear, but as we drew closer, I spotted Bella's mousy brown hair at the tailgate.

"Hey guys!" Emmett called, in that obnoxiously cheerful tone again.

There was a chorus of greetings, but I didn't miss the way the three unfamiliar people eyed me curiously. Bella didn't even bother looking at me.

"Well, you already know Bella," he said, but she didn't bother looking up at her name. She merely waved in greeting and continued studying whatever the fuck she found so interesting on the ground. "The little pixie is Alice and the scraggly blonde one is her boyfriend Jasper," Emmett said.

My first impression of Alice was that she was fucking hot, in a non-traditional way. She probably didn't even reach five feet in height, with pitch black spiky hair. She was the exact opposite of the dude Emmett had introduced as her boyfriend. And what the fuck kind of name was Jasper?

Well, I guess it wasn't any worse than _Edward_. Whatever.

"And this beautiful lady right here is my one and only, Rosalie."

I watched as the blonde rolled her eyes and batted Emmett away as he wrapped his humungous fucking arms around her and tried to pull her into his side. Now, while Alice was _hot_, she didn't have anything on Rosalie. This bitch was pretty much all legs with a slender waist and huge tits. Not to mention, she just looked like an overall bitch, and it was in my experience that bitches fucked the best.

Or maybe that was my personal preference. Whatever. Regardless, she was fucking smoking. And I must have fucking eyed her longer than necessary because I didn't miss the goddamned scowl she gave me. But even looking like she'd just stuck her nose in a pile of shit, she was still fucking gorgeous.

"It's nice to meet you Edward," Alice said in a chirpy little voice. _Fuck_. Even her speaking voice was attractive. What the hell was it with these two chicks? And where the hell could I find one?

"Yeah… nice to meet you too," I responded with a nod.

"Do you think you'll be sitting with us at lunch today?" She asked curiously. I watched as Bella nudged the pixie, but Alice ignored her and blinked at me innocently. "We'd love for you to join us."

"You're welcome to sit with us," Rosalie chimed in, surprisingly enough, since she'd just caught me ogling her tits, "but that troll Jessica is **not** invited."

"Rosalie!" Bella hissed. "Be nice."

"What?! That skank has more crabs than a seafood restaurant," she snorted.

I don't know if they were expecting me to defend Jessica's honor or what, but that wasn't exactly my style, so I shrugged. "I haven't quite decided where I'm going to sit yet, but I'll keep the invitation in mind," I responded coolly as I hoisted my backpack higher on my shoulders.

"Well, whatever," Rosalie responded with a shrug. "Just remember; no trolls allowed."

Oh yeah, this one was definitely a bitch.

**BPOV**

"Rosalie!" I hissed. "Be nice!"

"What?! That skank has more crabs than a seafood restaurant," she snorted. It took everything I had to keep from smacking her. I'm not a fan of Jessica Stanley by any stretch of the imagination, but that didn't give Rosalie the right to slander her. Especially considering that the rumors about the crabs had never been a proven fact.

I watched as Edward merely shrugged. "I haven't quite decided where I'm going to sit yet, but I'll keep the invitation in mind," he responded.

"Well, whatever," Rosalie said with a shrug. "Just remember; no trolls allowed."

And as much as I loved Rosalie, it didn't stop me from thinking that her **No Troll **policy should probably apply to her as well on occasion; at least when she decided to play Queen Bee of Forks High School and talk crap about every other female in the school.

I rolled my eyes behind her back, grabbing my bag from the back of the truck before slinging it over my shoulder. "Okay," I said, assuming my role as the goody-two-shoes of the group, "we should probably break up this little social gathering and get to class."

I didn't miss the look of annoyance on Rosalie's face, but I didn't care. I was used to that.

"Remember," Rosalie warned, pointing a perfectly manicured nail in Edward's direction, "invitation only."

He didn't seem concerned as he waved her off and headed off into the opposite direction. Once I was sure he was out of earshot, I turned to Rosalie, smacking her arm. "What the heck were you doing?"

"Listen, I'll put up with him because he's Emmett's cousin, but that doesn't mean I'm putting up with that whore too!"

"You can't just go around calling people names!"

"Sure I can! Do you remember how she behaved when she actually thought that _you _would be accepting vile Mike Newton's request to go to the prom with him last year? Do you think she was concerned about 'going around calling people names'? I swear to God Bella, you're just _too_ nice."

I snorted. Because being nice was a bad thing? I rolled my eyes, shaking my head at her as we sloped off across the wet ground towards the classrooms. After a quick goodbye to Emmett, Alice and Jasper, she grabbed my arm before I could enter the building.

"What are you doing?"

"Look, I'm doing you a favor, okay? I've seen the way you look at him, Bella—"

"That is _so_ not true!"

"And I'm not going to say anything to Emmett because I know how he is about Cullen. I won't make fun of you in front of him or Jasper," she continued, ignoring my outburst. "I'll even let you deny it if it makes you feel better. But I'm not going to have him sitting with us, slobbering all over Stanley in front of you. It's rude."

"Well, I don't know what you're talking about. That's not going to bother me. Of course it's not going to bother me? Why would I care if he was slobbering all over Jessica Stanley or anybody else for that matter? It doesn't bother me. I don't even care. I'm just—"

"Rambling. You're rambling, Bella. And you don't have to pretend, okay? Not with me. This is one thing I'm not going to tease you about. Well, I probably will a little bit, but just in front of Alice."

I could feel my face reddening. "Whatever," I mumbled with a shake of my head. "You're wrong."

"I'm _never _wrong," she countered, cocking a perfectly arched eyebrow at me. "And don't you forget it."

And before I even had the chance to respond, she whirled around and sauntered into the classroom more gracefully than I could ever achieve even in my dreams.

**EPOV**

I wasn't one for rushing things, especially when it came to new fucks, but I was going to have to make an exception for Jessica Stanley. I allowed her to chatter incessantly after first period, on the way to second. I listened to her drone on about the most ridiculously things during any lull in teaching during second. And I let her fill my head with inane banter as she followed after me like a fucking puppy on my way to third.

I hadn't even screwed her yet and I couldn't get rid of her. Maybe I needed to reevaluate the situation entirely. At the sound of the bell signaling the end of my third period, art with Miss Platt, I practically sprinted out of the room, praying that I could make it to the lunch room before Jessica had the chance to catch up with me.

"Edward!"

I cringed at the sound of my name, before I realized that it wasn't the high pitched squeal I'd grown accustomed to with Stanley. I turned, preparing for the worst, but immediately relaxed when I realized it was just Bella. "Hey," I mumbled in greeting as I glanced over her head, groaning when I saw that pile of curly hair headed my way. "Uh, can we walk and talk?" I asked, not waiting for a response as I set off back across the field.

"Um, sure," she replied, hurrying to catch up with me. I snorted when she tripped and nearly went flying face first into the grass, her books spilling from her arms to the ground.

"Are you capable of walking across a flat surface without breaking your neck? Jesus Christ," I said with a shake of my head, bending to pick up her dropped materials. I grabbed the bag that was slung over her shoulder and pulled it off her arm before shoving her things into it. "You know, they make these for a reason."

"Right," she responded with a nod. "Sorry. I just…I'm really clumsy. Like, so clumsy I'm practically disabled. This one time, I was climbing out of Emmett's Jeep and I sprained my ankle," she said with a weak laugh.

"I probably wouldn't go around telling too many people that," I told her. "Now can we walk please? Quickly, without you falling?"

"Oh," she said, bobbing her head. "Right. Sorry."

"You said that once," I reminded her, as I handed her the bag back and pushed myself to my feet.

"Right," she said, yet again. "Anyway, I just wanted to apologize for Rosalie. Sometimes, she goes into this… really… bossy mode where she thinks she's queen of the school. Anyway, it's not up to her to dictate who you sit with, so if you wanted to sit with us and you wanted to sit with Jessica, then Jessica could sit with us. If you wanted her to, I mean."

"So she could sit with us if I wanted her to?" I asked dryly, trying not to roll my eyes. "I'll keep that in mind. Is that all?"

"Well… yeah… I guess it is."

"Good. Then stop rambling."

I snorted again when I saw that blush on her cheeks. She was really too fucking easy to embarrass. She could be pretty fun, come to think of it.

"Edward!" I cringed at the sound of the shrill voice, and I wasn't the only one. I saw the look on Bella's face at the sound of Stanley's voice. She didn't look like she wanted Stanley to sit at her table anymore than the bitchy Barbie did, _even if I wanted her to_.

"Listen," I said, grabbing Bella's arm to stop her. "Save me a seat, okay?"

"Two?"

"No, I think just one is fine."

I didn't miss the smile that tugged at the corners of her lips as she tried not to smile but I rolled my eyes and waved her off, before I turned towards the voice.

"Hi!" Jessica greeted, automatically linking her arm with mine. I cringed away slightly. "You didn't wait for me," she accused, a pout on her full lips.

"Er… right. I needed to talk to Emmett about something."

"Well how come you were just talking to Bella Swan?" She asked, her pout turning into a full on scowl. I was slightly amused at her irritation.

"I had some shit to talk to her about. Nothing important."

"Okaaaay," she sighed, before that fucking hundred watt smile returned to her face. "So, are you sitting with us again?"

"Actually," I said, hoping to appear apologetic or whatever, "I kind of promised Emmett I would sit with him today. Family bonding and all, you know."

"Oh," she frowned. "Well… maybe we could push the two tables together or something?" She suggested, pleased with the idea.

"Yeah, I don't think that's going to work. You see, Emmett's girlfriend doesn't like you. And I would hate to subject you to that. She seems like she can be a real bitch," I said, my voice thick with mock sympathy.

"Well… can I at least drive you home after school?"

"As much as I would love that, Emmett's gotta stop by to see my grandmother anyway, so I told her that I'd be catching a ride with him."

"Edward," she whimpered.

"So sorry, Jess. But you know what? I'll give you a call later tonight."

"You promise?" She asked in that pathetically annoying voice.

"Yeah sure," I said, giving her my famous crooked panty-dropper smile. "So I'll see you later, huh?"

Without giving her a chance to respond, I hurried into the lunch room. Definitely going to have to reevaluate that shit.

**A/N: **As much as I love **Slutty!Edward**, I love **reviews** more! So **dazzle** me!


	8. Chapter Eight: Oops

**A/N: **First of all, I really do appreciate the responses that I'm getting to this story! Of course, I still feel like a loser in fanfic land because I haven't reached those triple digits yet even though I have like a million hits! So let's work on that, huh? *big grin*

I need to WARN YOU ALL! There are some lemon wedges at the end of this chapter (not B/E, unfortunately), but I swear, it's not too bad. So please just bear with me and I swear to God, you won't regret it! Also, because you guys seem to think Edward is a dick to Bella, you should enjoy this chapter! As promised, this chapter is longer than the others.

Since I took the time to make it longer just for y'all, do me a huge favor and leave a review! You guys are the best!

**Chapter Eight: Oops**

**EPOV**

Saturday Morning

I rolled over on the bed, groaning as I stretched. I wasn't sure how long I'd been asleep, but it didn't feel nearly long enough. It had been a long week, filled mostly with the incessant irritating chatter of the curly haired bitch that was I was positive I'd have to fuck soon, just to get her to leave me the hell alone. Everywhere I turned, she was there. In fact, the only reprieve was lunch. Though I had initially scoffed at the thought of joining Godzilla and the gang, that stupid lunch table had become my safe haven. While I was there, surrounded by the giant, the pixie, the emo, the bitch and the mouse, I was safe.

I pushed myself up on an elbow, rubbing a hand over my tired face, squinting against the bright sunlight that filtered in through the curtains.

Wait a minute… Sunlight?

Throwing the covers from my body, I practically rolled off the mattress and stumbled sleepily to the window. Huh. So the sun _does_ shine in Forks. Well, color me fucking surprised. I ran a hand through my hair as I glanced down at the street. Parked in front of the house was that monstrous red truck that I would recognize anywhere.

I backed away from the window, grabbing my discarded shirt from the foot of the bed before I pulled it over my bare chest. I didn't bother with making the bed; Ruby never came into the room anyway and as far as I was concerned, what she didn't know wouldn't hurt her.

I made sure to close the door behind me before I made my way downstairs, surprised as hell that Ruby let me sleep as late as I did.

"Well there you are!" The old woman greeted cheerfully as I stumbled into the kitchen. "I was beginning to think you were never going to wake up."

"Yeah, it was nice to be able to sleep in for once," I mumbled, glaring at her pointedly, but she ignored me.

"Anyway," she chattered on, "Bella has been kind enough to agree to run an errand for me up in Port Angeles, and I didn't know if you'd be interested in going with her."

"What's in Port Angeles?"

"It's a touristy kind of town," Bella said, averting her eyes. "They have a mall though. Nothing spectacular, but it serves the purpose."

"Yeah, I guess I could go," I said with a shrug. Granted, malls weren't exactly my cup of tea. In my experience, the only people that hung out at malls were pre-pubescent kids and potheads. But it would be better than sitting alone with Ruby all day. "Do I have time to grab a shower?"

"Sure," she said, nodding, still not looking at me. "Take your time. I'm in no hurry."

I grabbed a bagel from the bag on the counter and hurried up the stairs, eating as I went.

----

I wasn't exactly sure what the weather was like outside, but judging by the lightweight sweater that the mouse was wearing, I was pretty sure I'd be okay with a t-shirt and jeans. I showered, shaved and dressed quickly, but again, didn't bother with my hair.

I grabbed a lightweight jacket from my closet before I headed downstairs, actually looking forward to getting out of this small ass town, even if it was just for a few hours.

"You ready?" I asked as I entered the kitchen, grabbing another bagel from the counter.

"Uh… yeah," she responded with a nod, giving Ruby a slight smile. "Yeah. We can go. Are you ready?"

I rolled my eyes, but bit back my smart remark. "Yes, I'm ready."

"We shouldn't be back too late, Miss Ruby."

"You all go on and have a good time. Just be careful!"

With a wave to Ruby, I headed out of the kitchen and into the foyer, pausing only to make sure I had my wallet and cell phone, with Bella right behind me.

"I almost forgot what the sun looked like," I mumbled as I pulled the door open and stepped out onto the porch.

"Days like this are pretty rare," she said quietly. "But it just makes us appreciate the sun that much more."

_Right. Whatever_, I thought. "Exactly how far away is Port Angeles."

"About an hour each way, give or take."

"Are you sure this piece of shit can handle it?" I asked, pulling the rusty door of her truck open.

"At least I _have_ a vehicle."

Touché. I could feel myself grinning. "So you **do** have a personality hidden in there somewhere. Way to go," I congratulated, slightly impressed that she had it in her to fire back at me. Though her face had to be blazing as it turned a deep shade of pink, she held her head a little higher as she crossed the front of the truck before climbing in.

"You should probably put your seatbelt on," she mumbled, averting her eyes again.

"Are you kidding me?"

"Do I look like I'm kidding? Come on. My dad's Chief of Police. His law-abiding ways were bound to rub off eventually," she said as she reached over her shoulder and pulled her own seatbelt across her lap.

I grumbled to myself, but I followed her lead and strapped my own seatbelt across my chest, sending her a pointed glare. "Happy?"

"Very. Thank you," she said, giving me a slight smile as she put the truck in first. I rolled my eyes. No wonder she got along so well with Ruby. They were two fucking peas in a pod.

"So what exactly do normal people do around this piece of shit town on the weekends?"

"We leave town."

"There's seriously nothing to do in town? Like, within walking distance of Ruby's house?"

"Rosalie and Jasper throw parties sometimes. They're actually having one next Friday for Halloween."

"Are their parties any good?"

"Oh yeah. They have this _huge_ house, right outside of town, so you don't have to worry about neighbors calling the cops or anything. Alice usually helps throw it and Alice doesn't do a half-way job at _anything_ she does."

"Huh. Maybe I'll have to check it out next weekend."

"You should. We usually like to get a scrabble group together during the parties. And sometimes, if Rosalie is feeling generous, she'll even let us break out the Twister mat."

I narrowed my eyes as I looked over at her. "What the fu—"

"I'm kidding," she laughed. "But seriously, even when nobody's throwing a party, we all usually get together and hang out. And you know, you don't have to wait for somebody to show up at Miss Ruby's and take pity on you. You've pretty much been inducted into our group anyway."

"Is that what you did today? Take pity on me?"

"I guess you could look at it that way," she responded with a shrug and just like that, I snapped.

"I don't need **anyone **to pity me," I snarled angrily. "Is that what the group did with you? Take pity on you, I mean? Because you sure as shit don't fit in with the pixie and the Barbie."

It was out of line. Even I, Edward _Fucking_ Cullen, could tell that I'd definitely crossed the line, because as soon as the words left my mouth, her face fell, all traces of humor gone.

"I didn't… I didn't mean… I was just…kidding," she finished lamely.

Fuck. **Fuck!** "Shit. Bella, I didn't mean that. I'm just…"

"Just forget it, okay?" She asked, forcing a smile. I wanted to slam my head against the goddamned window. Shit.

**BPOV**

"Just forget it, okay?" I asked, forcing a smile, all the while fighting off the stupid unshed tears that prickled behind my eyelids.

From the first moment I'd laid eyes on Edward Cullen, I had wished and prayed that I could be more like Rosalie and Alice. Don't get me wrong; there were aspects of my life I wouldn't change for the world. But everything about him screamed confidence, bordering on arrogance and I just wished that I had even an ounce of Alice's charm or Rosalie's wit to put me on an even playing field with him. So that for _just _once, I, Isabella Marie Swan, could be the girl who gets the guy.

I had made up my mind, after inviting him to accompany me to Port Angeles, that I was going to just… let go. And once we were actually alone, I thought I'd gotten off to a good start.

It was much easier for me without an audience; without Emmett glaring pointedly at me for making nice with his cousin, and without Rosalie and Alice nudging me or kicking me when I laughed too loud at a joke that wasn't funny, or when I looked at him longer than they deemed necessary. It was easier for me to relax around him when I didn't have to worry about Jessica Stanley plotting my untimely death, or Mike Newton plotting Edward's.

But as easy as it was for me, it still wasn't good enough.

It was probably stupid to feel so hurt by his comment about not fitting in with Alice and Rosalie, but it didn't take the sting away. Mostly because he was right.

From the moment I'd realized I was surrounded by the freakishly beautiful, I wondered how the heck I'd managed to become associated with them. Simply put, they were perfect…Emmett and Jasper included.

"Bella… please. Would you just say it?"

Uh… what? Apparently, I wasn't capable of having an inner monologue and carrying on a conversation at the same time. "Say what?"

"Tell me I'm a dick."

I rolled my eyes. "Edward, please. You're not a… you're not, okay? Just forget it, really."

"Please? I really shouldn't have said that. I didn't mean to imply that they were any better than you or anything like that."

"It's fine. Really, I promise. Just drop it, please." I took a deep breath and smiled, hoping it would be received as genuine. He groaned and dropped his head back against the seat.

"Fine," he grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest. "But I really didn't mean it."

"It's okay, I swear. I'm not… mad or anything." I could feel him eyeing me, but I refused to look at him. I really just wanted to drop the subject and I was afraid that if I looked at him, I would crack. "Can we talk about something else now?"

"Like what?"

"Tell me about Chicago."

----

Though I'd spent a week's worth of lunches with Edward Cullen, I'd never heard him speak as much as I had on our way to Port Angeles. It had definitely taken a little prying on my part, but it wasn't long before he was telling me about the life he'd led back in Chicago.

He told me about the time, back when he was in second grade, that he'd fallen on stage during his school's Christmas concert and chipped his front tooth. He told me about the pet snake that he'd convinced his father he'd had to have when he was in middle school. I'd laughed when he admitted he was actually too scared of the snake to do anything other than watch it through the glass of the terrarium and had to give it away a month later.

He'd scowled at me for laughing at him, but the corners of his mouth had twitched, a smile threatening to form.

And even though the trip to Port Angeles had taken twenty minutes longer than originally anticipated, thanks to my senior citizen of a truck, I found that I didn't mind because he was with me.

"Is there anything in particular that you wanted to do?" I asked as I climbed out of the truck. "I've just got to pick up a book that Miss Ruby ordered from the bookstore."

"Hasn't she ever heard of Fed-Ex?" He asked with a snort as he slammed the passenger door of my old truck. "They got a movie theater in the mall?"

"Yep. They don't usually have too many movies playing at one time, but that Max Payne movie is playing, I think."

"Cool. Well maybe if we have time, we can catch that."

"Sure," I responded with a shrug. I wasn't really one for movies but it could be easily tolerated as long as he was there. Pathetic, I know.

**EPOV**

Later That Afternoon…

My first impression of Bella had not been a favorable one. In fact, my first_ few_ impressions had not been favorable and I was fairly sure that my interactions with her had been biased by my opinions of her. But now, sitting across from her in the nearly empty restaurant as she rambled on about her life in Phoenix, I realized I was wrong.

"I'm sorry," she laughed, dipping her French fry in ketchup, "I'm talking way too much. You should stop me when I start rambling, because I could seriously just go on forever."

"You're fine," I responded with a roll of my eyes. Even though I would never admit it to her or anyone else (especially because I** really **liked teasing her for rambling), I _liked_ hearing her talk. Her voice was soothing, unlike Jessica's. "Tell me more about your mother," I prompted. "What does she look like?"

She laughed, brushing her brown hair out of her face. "Renee… well, she looks like me I guess," she said with a shrug. "She's taller and her hair is shorter, but we could definitely pass for sisters, rather than mother and daughter."

I tried to picture an older Bella, but I couldn't. The only version of her I could picture was the one right in front of me. "Do you get along with her?"

"Oh yeah," she responded with a nod. "She's my best friend. That was the hardest part about coming here; leaving her, I mean."

_Must be fucking nice_, I thought bitterly, but I tried not to let my angry feelings register on my face. It wasn't her fault that **my** mother was a slut who couldn't be bothered with a family. It took every bit of strength I had to push those thoughts from my mind. "Enough of this bullshit," I said, taking a drink of my soda.

"You're right," she agreed with a nod. "We should probably get ready to head out. We promised Miss Ruby we wouldn't be back late," she reminded me, to which I rolled my eyes, but I grabbed the remainder of my burger and shoved it into my mouth before I stood.

"Alright," I mumbled, my mouth full, "let's go."

She snickered, shaking her head at me. "That's disgusting."

"I bet Jessica Stanley wouldn't think so," I retorted.

"Yeah, well nobody said Jessica Stanley was the smartest cookie in the kitchen. But it's probably not her fault though. You probably just dazzle her with your ridiculous good looks."

I grinned at her, nudging her playfully as we made our way to the front counter to pay. "So you think I'm good looking, huh?" I asked modestly. Hah. As if I didn't _know_. Her face reddened at my teasing, but it wasn't long before she recovered.

"I think **you** think you're good looking."

"Ouch. That hurts. I think you've definitely just bruised my ego."

"Somehow, I think your ego is large enough to survive."

----

Later That Night…

Bella Swan was definitely different, I decided as I flopped back against the mattress with a sigh. She was probably one of the nicest goddamned people I'd ever met (which wasn't saying much because I usually associated with high school sluts) and she was just easy to get along with.

I think the thing I liked the most about her was that she wasn't afraid to be herself. She didn't try to conform to the crowd in an effort to fit in. She did her own thing, everyone else be damned and that shit was rare. Especially in teenagers. Especially in _female_ teenagers.

Being around her was like a breath of fresh air, especially after being surrounded by people like Carlisle (who was the goddamned epitome of phony) and the Jessica Stanleys of my Chicago high school.

Don't get me wrong; I was positive that Jessica was going to make an exquisite fuck. Bitches like her always did. But that didn't mean that she still wasn't phony as shit. She tried so hard to give off that air of innocence, but it was laughable. That girl was probably so loose that I'd have to strap a fucking two-by-four to my back to keep from falling in.

I could feel my cell phone buzzing in my pocket, so I lifted my hips and pulled it out, glancing at the front screen. _Damn. That bitch must have ESP or something_, I thought as Jessica's name flashed across the screen.

"Hey Jess," I greeted smoothly. "I was just laying here thinking about you."

"Oh yeah?" She asked, in what I guessed was meant to be a seductive voice. "What exactly were you thinking?"

"Mmm… you probably don't want to know," I smirked.

"Sure I do," she purred. "I was actually just thinking about you too."

"You were, huh?"

"Of course. Lately, you're all that seems to be on my mind."

"Huh. Why don't you tell me about it?" I coaxed.

"Well," she hesitated, "I was actually wondering when I was going to be able to get you alone. You seem to be avoiding me lately," she said and I could hear the pout in her voice.

"Aw Jess, I haven't bee avoiding you." Maybe I was the biggest phony of all. "I've just been really busy."

"You promise?"

"Of course, baby. But I'm curious," I said.

"About what?" She asked, slightly breathless.

"Well… you said you were wondering when you were going to be able to get me alone…" I trailed off, grinning.

"Uh-huh."

"I'm curious as to what you'd do to me once we were alone."

A soft squeak emitted from her end of the phone. "Are you sure you want to know?"

"Positive." I leaned back against the headboard, my grin widening.

"Well first," she said quietly, and I could hear shuffling in the background, so I assumed she was getting comfortable, "I really want to run my fingers through your hair."

"Oh yeah? You don't have to wait until we're alone to do that though."

"No, I guess we don't. But I wouldn't stop there. I'd probably take your shirt off so I could touch your chest."

"I think I'd probably like that."

"I'd trail my fingers down your chest to your stomach, stopping just above your pants."

I could feel myself getting hard as she described the way she'd touch me. "How come you'd stop?"

"Because I'd want to take my time. I'd want to _savor _it."

I shivered slightly. "Do you think you'd enjoy what you saw?"

"I'm positive I would," she said confidently. "In fact, I'd enjoy it so much, I'd have to kiss every inch of you."

"_Every_ inch of me?"

"Well," she paused and I could hear the smile in her voice. "**Almost** every inch."

"And what would you do with the rest of me?"

"Not yet," she said quietly. "You're getting ahead of yourself."

"Mmm… tell me," I commanded.

"I think after I kissed my way down your body, I'd have to go back up."

"Why would you do that?"

"Because I would want to kiss your lips. Softly at first, but as my hand tangled in your hair, and my other hand found your waistband, I would imagine it would become a little more urgent."

My growing erection was straining against my jeans. "What else?"

"I was thinking that I'd probably be able to feel you getting hard," she responded in a breathy voice.

"Fuck yes," I growled. "What. Else?"

"You would get frustrated by my lack of progress on your pants, so you'd just go ahead and undo them yourself."

Cradling my phone between my ear and shoulder, I reached down and did just that, groaning as my rock hard cock was freed from the confines of my jeans. "Now what?"

"I would want to have a little taste of you before I did anything else. But I wouldn't finish you off with my mouth. That would be such a waste."

I sucked in a breath, my dick aching with need. "Fuck Jessica," I grunted. "You have no fucking idea how bad I wish you were here. You're killing me."

"I want to hear you pleasure yourself."

Not needing to be told twice, I kicked the jeans from my legs and scrambled into the bathroom, nearly dropping the phone on my way. Once I was safely in my private bathroom with the door locked, I pressed the button to initiate the speaker phone. "Can you hear me Jess?"

"Perfectly."

I closed my eyes as I yanked my boxers down off my hips and gripped my cock with my hand. I moaned at the feeling, leaning my head against the wall. "Tell me what you want to do to me," I commanded, my voice strained.

"Well, after I finished having a taste, I would probably push you back onto the bed. I'd climb over your hips and straddle you, kissing your neck and chest, just teasing you."

"Uh huh," I grunted. "What else?"

"You'd be anxious and probably a little uncomfortable too at all the teasing. You'd try to roll me over so that you could take charge, but I'd stop you and tell you to take your time. I'm in no hurry."

Her words rang out in my brain just as clear as anything, but her shrill voice was replaced with Bella's soothing voice.

"_Take your time. I'm in no hurry," _she's said earlier that morning at Ruby's kitchen table when I'd asked if I had time for a shower. Her face flashed in my mind, and I immediately opened my eyes, groaning. Though my cock had been throbbing to the point of pain just seconds ago, I could feel the need beginning to subside as I listened to Jessica describe the way she'd touch and kiss me as she mounted me.

It just didn't have the same goddamned effect; not now. She'd driven my body wild, eliciting reactions from me but now, whenever I fucking blinked, I could see Bella's disapproving face in my mind.

"_That's disgusting,"_ I'd remembered her saying, snickering as she shook her head at me. Though we had been talking about something completely different at the time, the words felt like a swift kick to the nuts and before I even realized it, my cock was limp in my hands.

_Fuck_, I thought bitterly.

"Edward?"

_Shit_. "Uh… y-yeah. Keep going, Jess."

"Are you sure you're okay? Maybe we shouldn't do… this."

"No, it's fine," I told her, trying to keep up the pretense. It wouldn't do good to hurt her feelings before I got the chance to actually fuck her.

Jesus Christ, I would never understand how women were able to fake that shit. It took every goddamned thing I had to remember to moan at the correct time or exhale shakily when the conversation called for it. But I couldn't very well give that shit up too soon because I didn't want the fucking reputation of a premature ejaculator.

I'm not sure if Jessica ever realized that my noises were just a little too forced or a little too loud to be entirely real, but if she did, she said nothing.

By the time I figured it was okay to fake the climax, she was panting heavily as if she'd just run a goddamned marathon or something and I wasn't sure, but I thought that maybe she'd gotten a little pleasure herself from the whole fucking experience.

"Jess," I croaked, making sure to keep my voice low and gritty, "there are no fucking words to describe how great that was."

"Do you think," she asked, her voice wavering, "that we could try that for real? Soon?"

And then I grinned, as if Christmas had come early. "Soon," I promised.

----

"Edward?"

I glanced up at the sound of my Ruby's voice as she pushed the door open. Her face was furrowed with concern as she scanned the room. "What?" I asked, slightly agitated that she was bugging me, but relieved that she hadn't decided to barge in fifteen minutes earlier.

"Is everything okay?"

I cocked an eyebrow at her. "Everything's fine. Why?"

"Well, I was doing some reading in my room and it sounded like you might have been getting sick. I could hear you in the bathroom."

My eyes widened and I was pretty sure that what little color I had drained from my face. _No fucking way did she hear me pretending to whack off._

"I heard what sounded like moaning and heaving. Are you getting sick, sweetheart?"

"Oh. Oh that… uh… You know, earlier Bella and I stopped at this little diner in Port Angeles and I think the hamburger I had might have been bad."

"Should we call Carlisle?"

"Oh no," I told her with a shake of my head. "I uh… I feel much better now."

"Are you sure you don't want me to get you some ginger ale or something?"

"No, I'll be fine. Uh… thanks though."

"Alright sweetheart," she said with a nod as she crossed the room. She bent over the bed and kissed my forehead before she patted my hair. "Feel better, honey."

"Yeah, thanks," I repeated again, watching as she walked out, pulling the door closed behind her. Once I was sure that she was gone, a groan escaped my lips as I fell back against the bed. This definitely topped my list for one of the most embarrassing moments.

**A/N:** As much as I love **Horny!Edward**, I love **reviews** more. So **dazzle** me!


	9. Chapter Nine: Smells Like Teen Spirt

**A/N**: So I hate this chapter. With the fiery passion of a million suns. No, really. I think that's why I procrastinated so long in getting it out. And booooy, did I procrastinate! I played with my new Wii Fit! And I rode my motorcycle (that's right. I have a motorcycle. Because I'm a cool biker chick and stuff)! See? This is me procrastinating again. Anyway, just as a warning, there's **Edward/Jessica **sexins in this chapter, but it's not graphic. It's not even a sex scene (I wanted to spare you. Because Jessica? Ew.)

Anyway, because I hate this chapter so much, I'm depressed about posting it. So make me feel better by reviewing. You all did good with pushing me over the 100 mark! Now lets strive for **69 **reviews for this chapter. It'll make Edward happy!

Oh! Duh! I hope everyone had a great Christmas! Have a safe New Year!

**Chapter Nine: Smells Like Teen Spirit (Or Sex)**

**EPOV**

Monday Morning

I had been caught masturbating by Carlisle once. I think I might have been like, eleven or something. I wasn't sure I was doing it right and at the time, I didn't have enough sense to be embarrassed. But getting caught by Ruby _faking_ it? Even though she **said **she wasn't sure exactly _what_ I was doing? Yeah, not my proudest moment. I think the worst part of it was the fact that I had to spend all day Sunday with her.

That's excruciating enough under normal circumstances, but every time I fucking looked at her, my cheeks burned. And I'm not an easy guy to embarrass.

As much as I hated school, I was grateful when my alarm clock sounded because it meant that for at least eight hours, I would be free from her scrutinizing stares. I didn't grumble or bitch when I rolled out of the bed. I didn't take my time in the shower either. I threw on my standard t-shirt and jeans and made my way down the stairs, cringing slightly when I saw Bella sitting at the table.

It wasn't because I wasn't glad to see her; I'd had a great time with her on Saturday and I was looking forward to spending lunch with her, now that a tentative friendship had been formed. The problem was I'd pictured her in my mind while I was preparing to jerk off to Jessica Stanley's voice as she talked dirty to me and even though there was no way in hell that she'd **ever **know about that, it made me feel a little bit like a perv.

And not the good kind either.

"Hey, what's up?" I greeted, nodding to her as I made my way over to the counter and grabbed an apple.

"I hope you don't mind, but Emmett called me this morning and told me he wasn't going to school, so I thought that maybe you could use a ride."

"No, that's cool. Thanks."

"Is Emmett sick?" Ruby asked, concern lacing her voice. "Maybe you caught something after all, Edward."

You have **got** to be kidding me. _Please don't say anything, please don't say anything, please don't say anything_—"Were you sick?" Bella asked.

**Fuck**.

"Just a little bit Saturday night," Ruby supplied. "He thinks that maybe the hamburger he ate was bad. But maybe there's something going around."

"Well I'm glad you're feeling better now," she said, giving me a slight smile. I merely nodded and took a bite from my apple to keep from having to say anything. "We should uh… we should probably get ready to go. I've got to meet Alice before school. Are you ready?"

"Yeah," I responded, swallowing the bite of apple. "Let's go."

"Before you go," Ruby said, wiping her hands on a dish towel, "I've got a book club meeting tonight. I won't be home until around nine, so you're on your own for dinner. Think you can manage without burning the house down?"

I rolled my eyes. "Pretty sure it's not that hard to pick up the phone and order a pizza."

She gave me a stern look, but waved me off. "Alright. I'll leave you some money on the counter. And do me a favor; call your father when you get home."

Yeah, that wasn't going to happen, but rather than argue with her, I didn't say anything. We both knew that I wasn't going to call Carlisle. Hell, **Carlisle **knew I wasn't going to call Carlisle, but I guess it made her feel better to try and be all parental or whatever.

Without another word to her, I motioned to Bella that I was ready to go and dutifully, she stood and followed me out of the kitchen.

"Do anything fun yesterday?" She asked as we made our way out of the house together.

I couldn't help myself; I snorted. "I was stuck in the house all day with Ruby. What's fun about that?"

"I told you that you could call one of us if you didn't have anything to do," she chastised as she pulled the heavy door of her truck open. "We would have come to pick you up."

"It's not a big deal."

"Well next time call, okay?"

"Yeah sure." I climbed into the cab of the truck, pulling the seatbelt down over my chest before she had the opportunity to tell me to do so. She gave me a bright smile as she shoved the key into the ignition, starting the rusted old beast up.

"So listen," she said as she pulled away from the curb, "I know I mentioned the party to you on Saturday in passing, but it would be really cool if you'd come. It's supposed to be a costume party, but you really don't have to dress up. I never do."

"When is it again?"

"Friday night. We're all meeting up at Rosalie and Jasper's at five to decorate and stuff. It'll be a lot of fun."

"Yeah, pretty sure I won't be able to make it that early, but I'll try to swing by."

"Oh. I just… thought that you might want a ride or something."

"I'll let you know. I'm not sure what I'm doing yet on Friday."

"Well, either way, if you want to come, just give me a call and I'll come pick you up."

"Sounds good. Thanks." I leaned my head back against the seat as she drove.

"Are we back to uncomfortable, forced conversations now?" She asked, not looking at me.

"What are you talking about?"

"After Saturday… well, I thought that… maybe we were past all this. That we were kind of friends now?"

"We are," I confirmed with a nod. And surprisingly enough, I actually meant it.

Though the ride to school was tense at first, things lightened up after we established the fact that we were done with all the forced "I don't know you, I'm just being nice because I have to" bullshit. When she'd pulled up to the school, I'd thanked her for the ride (because even Edward Cullen has manners… sometimes) and we parted ways.

She had gone off in search of Alice and I was looking for Jessica. I had the house to myself tonight for awhile and I planned to take advantage of that shit. What the hell kind of guy would I be if I didn't? Luckily, I didn't have to look too hard.

As soon as Jessica spotted me, she gave me what she thought was a sexy smile. As far as I was concerned, she looked constipated but I wasn't going to burst her bubble when I was so close to hitting that shit so I grinned back and draped an arm around her shoulder as she bounced over to my side.

"Hi," she greeted, her arm slinking around my waist.

"Hi yourself," I responded, giving her my patented crooked smile. I could practically see her panties starting to drop. "So listen… my grandma's going out for awhile tonight. Which means I'll have the house to myself," I said, trailing a finger down her arm, smirking when she shivered at my touch. "Do you think you could get away tonight?"

"It depends," she responded, her breathing a little irregular. "What exactly did you have in mind?"

I wasn't sure who told girls that playing hard to get was cute or whatever, but it wasn't. She knew, just as well as I did, that she'd be at Ruby's at whatever time I told her to be there. But if it made her feel like less of a slut to hesitantly agree rather than eagerly, whatever. I could play along.

"I thought we'd pick up where we left off Saturday night."

I could almost hear her panties dripping. "W-what time should I come over?"

"Six."

"I'll be there."

**BPOV**

"Bella? Bella, are you listening to me?"

_No_, I thought apologetically as Alice's voice snapped me back to reality, forcing me to tear my eyes away from _them_. "I'm sorry Alice. What were you saying?"

She huffed, slightly indignant that she was being ignored. It wasn't something she was used to. "What are you wearing Friday night? This is important."

"Ugh. Alice, I don't dress up," I reminded her.

"So what you're telling me is that you don't have a costume?"

"Correct. Because I **don't** dress up."

"Perfect!" She squealed, ignoring me. "Listen, Rose and I decided that we're doing group costumes. Wizard of Oz. We're driving up to Port Angeles after school to go to the costume shop."

"Alice, I'm not—"

"Relax," she responded with a roll of her eyes. "We're letting you be Dorothy. Nothing too outlandish for you, okay? We'll even give you veto power on the dress style."

"Alice, I really—"

"Too bad!" She hissed. "We never do anything fun like this. Even the boys are dressing up, so just go along with this, please? We won't bother you about a costume for the next three Halloweens if you just do this without protesting."

Any idea of protesting I may have had in mind flew out the window when Alice turned her patented puppy dog eyes on me. Nobody could say no to Alice when she pouted.

"Fine," I groaned, slumping my shoulders in defeat. Halloween was my least favorite holiday. If it wasn't for the fact that Alice and Rosalie would be horribly offended, I wouldn't bother showing up at the party. But I had no choice. "Fine, I'll dress up in the stupid costume."

Another of Alice's high pitched squeals pierced my ears as she threw her arms around my shoulders. With the pixie momentarily distracted, I allowed my eyes to search out Edward once more and cringed as he dropped his arm around Jessica Stanley's shoulder, drawing her into his side.

From this distance, I couldn't make out what he was saying to her, but I could clearly see the slight blush that colored her cheeks. I could see her body shudder slightly as he slid a finger down her arm. I forced myself to look away when he leaned closer, not wanting to witness whatever was going to come next.

"We should probably get to class," I said hastily as I pulled away from Alice's embrace, eager to put the sight of Edward wrapped around Jessica out of mind and confused as to why it bothered me so much.

----

All morning, I was haunted by Jessica Stanley's smug face. It seemed like everywhere I turned, she was there, grinning triumphantly. I wasn't a violent person, but more than once, I visualized myself smacking that dumb smile off her face, but I forced myself to look away, to hide my irritation at the whole situation.

I managed to laugh at some stupid joke Jasper told at the exact moment that Edward sank down into a chair next to Jessica at lunch. I was able to appear disinterested for the entire duration of Rosalie's rant on the Jessica Stanleys of the world. I pretended to be overcome with enthusiasm when Alice brought up the subject of costumes again. I was positive it was an overreaction on my part, judging by the way my three friends looked at me with raised eyebrows, but I didn't care.

I managed to keep my gaze away from _them_ for the most part during lunch, but I was incredibly grateful when the bell sounded, signaling the end. I practically sprinted from the room, but no one seemed to notice and even if they did, I didn't particularly care.

The remainder of the day passed excruciatingly slow. Though I was not anxious for the shopping trip to Port Angeles, I knew it would be a welcomed distraction. And I knew I'd need it when I trudged out to the parking lot and spotted Edward Cullen climbing into Jessica Stanley's beat up old Toyota.

**EPOV**

The original plan had been for Jessica Stanley to come over around six so that the fucking could commence. But the more I thought about it, the more I decided that the sooner I fucked her, the sooner I could get rid of her, so of course I accepted when she offered to give me a ride home from school.

When she pulled up in front of Ruby's house, I caught the way she stared longingly or whatever. I could practically see her panties itching to come off.

"Why don't you just come in now?"

"A-are you sure?" She asked, dropping her gaze and chewing slightly on her lower lip. Gross.

"Positive," I responded, and as if to prove my point, I leaned across the center console and captured her lips with mine, putting an end to that disgusting fucking lip chewing.

She sighed softly against my lips, lifting her hand to grip my hair. I moaned softly against her. That was definitely one of my weak spots. I pulled away from her, grinning at the look that crossed her face.

"What are you—"

"Inside," I commanded. I shoved the door open and climbed out, not waiting to make sure she was following as I slammed the door before crossing the sidewalk and took the porch steps two at a time.

She was behind me in a matter of seconds, her hand finding mine as I pulled her into the house, kicking the door closed behind us. Jessica struggled to keep up as I tugged her up the stairs, tripping twice as we went.

"Come on," I urged as we rounded the landing. I managed to pull her up the remaining stairs and down the hall before we made it to my room.

Later That Night…

Fucking Jessica Stanley was not my smartest idea. In my defense, however, it had been awhile since the last time I'd bagged any pussy (especially any **new** pussy) and she was my best option for getting some immediately. When the opportunity to have some alone time, away from Ruby's prying eyes, had presented itself, I'd jumped on it and on her.

Literally.

But now, as she snuggled closer to me, her naked body pressing against my side, I felt slightly repulsed that I'd sunk so low. Don't get me wrong; Jessica wasn't ugly by any stretch of the imagination. But Jesus Christ, I was positive that this chick had some stalkerish tendencies as it was and they were most likely going to be exacerbated by the fact that I'd just fucked her six ways from Sunday.

"Mmm Edward," she sighed as she snuggled even closer, resting her head against my chest. "That was… mmm… there are no words."

_Wish_ _I could say the same_, I thought, though I said nothing. Now, don't get me wrong: Pussy is pussy and even the worst I'd ever had wasn't bad, but for somebody that was so fucking _forward_, I'd expected this shit to be the equivalent to filet mignon. It was more like Steak-ums and Edward Cullen does not like to be disappointed.

I lifted her arm from around my waist and pulled away, climbing out of the bed.

"Edward? Where are you going?"

"Shower."

"Ooh," she purred, sitting up, pulling the sheet up to cover her tits. I almost snorted. Why do chicks do that? We'd just fucked. I'd become well acquainted with her tits. "Would you like some company?"

"Eeh… I'm more of a solo shower type of guy. But hey, thanks for coming over. Maybe we can get together again sometime." Or not_._

"I don't…what?"

With a roll of my eyes, I picked up her clothes from the floor and dumped them onto the foot of the bed. A look of comprehension dawned on her face and I almost felt bad. _Almost_.

"Are you… kicking me out?"

"Listen, Jess… we did what we planned on doing, right? Mission accomplished. What else is there?"

"You're seriously kicking me out? We just fucked."

"Right and now we're done."

"Are you kidding me?"

"What exactly did you expect?"

"I thought… I thought that…"

"Well, whatever it was, you thought wrong. You can find your way out, right?" I asked as I grabbed a clean pair of boxers from my dresser drawers.

"Why are you… why are you doing this?" She asked and I could hear the tears in her voice. I hated when they cried but not enough to actually do anything about it.

"Listen, it's nothing personal. But you're going to want to do yourself a favor."

"What?" She asked incredulously.

"Well, it probably wouldn't look good if everyone knew just how easy it was for me to get you into bed. I mean, you already have somewhat of a reputation. Now, I'm a gentleman. At least, I can be, so no one ever needs to know about this little thing. We wouldn't want to damage what little bit of a good reputation you had left, now would we?"

"Fuck you," she spat bitterly as she began pulling her clothes on. "Fuck you, Edward Cullen."

"Ah, but I think you just did. See you in school tomorrow." And with that, I headed into the bathroom to scrub away my repulsion.

**A/N:** As much as I love **Manwhore!Edward **and **Angsty!Bella**, I love **reviews **more. So **dazzle **me.


	10. Chapter Ten: Come As You Are

**A/N: **So, I was going to punish you all because I think Edward requested **69 **reviews for the last chapter! But then I got thinking about it and I think I got around **48 **reviews, which is pretty freakin' sweet! I rewarded you lovely people instead with the longest chapter yet.

I hope everyone had a wonderful New Years! Mine sucked, but we'll save that for another day! I gotta give partial credit for this chapter to my partner at work who has no idea he's helping me write a fanfic *snicker* Thank you guys for the great reviews! Keep them coming, they help me write! And now I present to you... THE HALLOWEEN PARTY! Costumes can be found on my profile.

**Chapter Ten: Come As You Are**

**BPOV**

Friday Morning…

The entire school had been buzzing all week long in anticipation of the Halloween party at the Hale House. Everyone from the lowly freshman to the God-like seniors were looking forward to the first official non-school related party of the year. It was most likely going to go down in Forks High history as the best party of the century, as Rosalie and Alice had planned everything to a T.

But despite all that, I just couldn't find it in myself to get excited. For one thing, crowds weren't exactly my thing. Especially if I was being forced to parade around in a ridiculous costume in front of said crowd. _**Especially**_ if Edward Cullen was a part of that crowd.

Even now, in the comfort of my toasty truck cab, I shivered at the thought of him seeing me in the heinous get-up that Alice had forced me to buy, completely disregarding our previous agreement on veto power of the costumes.

Of course, I still wasn't a hundred percent sure that Edward would even show up. He'd been proclaiming all week that he would, in fact, be coming, which I attributed to the fact that Jessica Stanley had been out of school sick since Tuesday. But now, as I watched her pull into the parking lot in her Toyota, I wondered if her re-appearance would change things.

I kind of hoped not.

With a sigh, I grabbed my bag from the passenger seat and shoved the heavy door open, cringing as the cool autumn air struck me. Though my truck wasn't good for much, it was good for keeping me warm in the cold Forks temperatures. I pulled my jacket tighter around my body before I slung my bag onto my shoulder.

I spotted Alice and Rosalie huddled up to Jasper and Emmett near the lunch building. Edward stood against the wall, leaning casually against the nondescript concrete.

I trudged across the parking lot, pausing as I was passing Jessica Stanley's car. My intention had originally been to simply ask if she was feeling any better and to find out if she was planning on attending the party with Edward later that night, but as her bag slipped from her hand, spilling the contents against the concrete, I hurried over to the driver's side to offer her a hand.

"Hey Jess," I greeted, as I stooped down to grab some of her scattered materials. "Are you feeling any better?"

She refused to meet my gaze, though her voice was not unkind when she responded. "A little bit, thanks," she said quietly as she picked up the remainder of her belongings before she shoved them into her bag.

"Here you go," I said, holding out her notebook, which she took with a slight smile.

"Thanks Bella. It was really nice of you to help me."

"No problem," I responded, and I meant it. She glanced up at me briefly and I could see the unshed tears in her blue eyes. Slightly startled, I pushed myself to my feet, careful not to fall and held out a hand to help her up. "Hey Jessica… are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine," she insisted, brushing a lock of her hair out of her face. "Thanks again for helping me."

"No problem," I repeated dumbly as she closed her car door and lifted her bag onto her shoulder before she took off across the parking lot. "Er… Hey Jess!" She stopped, turning to look at me quizzically. "Listen… we're having a party tonight at Rosalie and Jasper's. I don't know if you were planning on coming with Edward or not… but you should. Come to the party I mean." _But not with Edward_.

"I don't think I can," she responded, her voice cracking every so slightly. "But thank you for the invitation," she said. As she turned, I could have sworn I saw a tear slide down her cheek.

**EPOV**

"So you _are_ coming tonight, right?" Alice asked as she cocked her eyebrow at me. It took every bit of strength I had to keep from rolling my eyes at her. She'd been asking me this question for the last week, and every goddamned time, I gave her the same answer. I was tempted to tell her 'no' just to piss her off, but according to Jasper, she was a pouter and I hated that shit.

So I settled for an affirmative answer in a sarcastic tone. "Haven't we had this discussion every day? Pretty sure I've told you at least sixty times this week that I'm coming."

She ignored my tone, but Blondie did not and I didn't miss the irritated scowl she sent me. I rolled my eyes in response and suppressed the urge to give her the finger. I'd managed to form tentative friendships with the others, but apparently, she wasn't buying my bullshit. Whatever. Like I cared.

"Are you sure you're against dressing up?" Alice asked, oblivious to my inner musings. "We could throw together a quick outfit and you could be the Wizard!"

"Positive," I responded with a snort. Yeah right. Not going to fucking happen in this lifetime. I opened my mouth to respond with another sarcastic remark about Emmett and Jasper being just a notch above the split-tails, but before I got the opportunity, Rosalie drew my attention to the other end of the parking lot.

"Why the hell is Bella talking to Jessica Stanley?" She asked, disgust lacing her voice.

I narrowed my eyes as I spotted her pulling Jessica to her feet. Why the fuck _was_ she talking to Jessica? That bitch had been out for almost the entire week. I'd almost felt a little bad at that, knowing that my casual dismissal of her Monday night after our fuck session was most likely the reason, but seeing her talking to Bella irritated the fuck out of me.

What if she didn't keep her goddamned mouth shut? What if she was spilling her goddamned guts about what happened on Monday to Bella right now? Fuck. I'd definitely have to have a conversation with her later and remind her again to keep her trap closed.

I tried really hard to appear casually disinterested as Bella made her way across the parking lot and wet grass to where we stood.

"Why were you talking to Jessica?" Rosalie demanded by way of greeting as Bella joined us. My first instinct had been to bitch slap that cunt for the way she talked to Bella but I wasn't really in the mood to have Emmett break my face, so I didn't do a goddamned thing. Plus, I wanted to know why the fuck she'd been talking to Jessica too. I just would have asked in a nicer way. Maybe.

She looked slightly taken aback at the question, or maybe it was the tone in which it was asked, which increased my irritation with the Barbie.

"I wasn't aware there were restrictions on who I could talk to."

"Don't be ridiculous, Bella," Rosalie snorted with a roll of her eyes. "What did _she _want?"

Yeah, what **did** she want?

Bella rolled her eyes and shrugged her bag higher onto her shoulder. "She dropped her bag. I wasn't aware it was a crime to be a good citizen."

"You didn't invite her to the party though, did you?" Rosalie asked, though it sounded more like a threat than anything.

_Please say you didn't_, I thought.

"Easy now Rose," Emmett soothed, dropping his hand to her shoulder. "It's not a big deal if she invited Jess."

_Yes it is!_

"Yes the hell it is! The last time I checked, we were having this party at **my** house and there is a strict no troll policy!"

"Oh for God's sake!" Bella groaned, obviously exasperated by the entire subject. "What is with all this elitist crap? This is high school, Rosalie, not a yacht club! Yes, I invited Jessica to the party and no, she won't be coming! And if you keep up with your stupid high and mighty attitude, I'm not coming either!"

I don't think anyone was used to hearing Bella get up in arms about something so stupid, based on the shocked expressions on everyone's faces. But I felt kind of proud. Like maybe a little bit of me was rubbing off on her.

But I was still glad that Stanley wasn't coming.

"Fine," Rosalie grumbled. "I'm just trying—"

"I **know** what you're just trying to do," Bella snapped. "But you need to stop. Now."

"Okay," Jasper said, attempting to diffuse the situation before it got out of hand, "so I guess we're meeting up at our house around five tonight, right?"

"Works for me," Emmett said. "You want me to swing by and pick you up?" He asked, glancing in my direction.

"Yeah sure," I responded with a shrug.

"Bella is supposed to pick Edward up," Alice screeched. "You're supposed to go over to Jasper's right after school and help hang the decorations!"

"Well what the hell are we meeting at five for then?" Emmett asked.

"To start getting ready," Alice and Rosalie answered together, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Listen, there's no way I'm getting dressed at five and sitting around in that gay costume until eight. Not going to happen munchkin. Sorry," Emmett said, though he didn't sound sorry at all.

"You will, even if I have to wrestle you into it," Alice threatened, wagging her tiny finger in Emmett's face. Truthfully, it was kind of hilarious, but it was a little annoying too, so I knew I needed to get the hell out of there.

"Alright, so Bella's picking me up then?" I asked, glancing to her for confirmation. She still seemed irritated by her exchange with Rosalie, so all I got was a curt nod. "Cool. I'll see you losers later."

**BPOV**

Later That Afternoon…

Usually, I hate Fridays. I know how weird that sounds, because what high school kid hates a Friday? But you know what the problem with the last school day of the week was? It always ticked by at an unbearably slow pace. But apparently, God was feeling merciful because before I knew it, the last bell of the day had rung, releasing me from this Hell.

We'd all said goodbye in the parking lot before going our separate ways. I'd offered Edward a ride home since Emmett apparently had strict instructions to get to the Hale House immediately after school to decorate, but he had assured me it was no problem to drop Edward off.

Even the drive home, while not too far, took less time than usual and before I knew it, I was in the kitchen, preparing a meal for my dad for later.

I had no idea how Charlie—my dad-- had managed to survive before I'd come to Forks. He was quite possibly the worst cook in the history of the world, and as soon as I'd realized it, I'd requested to be put in charge of all kitchen detail. Even though he assured me time and again that he would be able to manage just fine in the event I wasn't home for dinner, it still made me feel a little guilty, so I liked to have something laid out for him—something easy enough that he couldn't possibly screw up.

I shoved the pan of marinated steaks onto the shelf in the refrigerator with a note on how long to cook it in the over, along with instructions for the baked potato before I hurried up the stairs to get ready for the party.

I didn't have much to do; most of the actual prepping would be done in Rosalie's bedroom. Alice had instructed me to shower, wash my hair, and leave the rest to her.

I threw on a pair of my favorite jeans and grabbed a hoodie from the closet before I deemed myself appropriate. I scribbled a quick note to Charlie, reminding him of my whereabouts and the fact that I wouldn't be home until morning before I headed out to the truck.

I wondered briefly, as I drove the short distance to Miss Ruby's if I should go in and say hello, as it had been a few days since I'd seen her, but I didn't have the chance. Edward was already outside waiting for me.

"Excited for the party?" I asked as he climbed into the cab of the truck, pulling the heavy rusty door closed behind him. He snorted and rolled his eyes at my question.

"The party? Not so much. Getting away from Ruby for a few hours? Hell yes. Hurry up and drive before she realizes she forgot to give me a curfew."

"I'm not exactly looking forward to it either," I sighed as I put the truck into first and eased off the clutch carefully. Though I'd gotten much better at having Edward in the truck, sometimes I got a little overexcited and popped the clutch.

"Why are you going then?"

"Because Rosalie and Alice would act like I murdered somebody if I didn't show up. They take offense to anyone snubbing their invitation."

"Well shit, I wish I'd known that. I would have stayed home on principle. It's kind of fun to piss Rosalie off."

It was my turn to roll my eyes, but I understood what he meant. She _was_ kind of funny when she was mad.

"So tell me," He said, "why exactly does everyone show up at five when the party doesn't start until eight? It won't really take you all that long to get changed will it?"

"No. Well, it might take Alice and Rosalie that long, but it takes them forever to do anything. Five o'clock just gives us time to hang out together before the party starts. We'll probably order a pizza or something, put up any last minute decorations… whatever really needs to be done."

"That's cool, I guess."

"It sounds kind of boring, but it's not, I promise."

"No, it's fine. Anything's better than sitting home with Ruby. I still can't believe you hang out with her by choice."

I didn't bother dignifying his comment with a response, so I kept my mouth closed as I turned down the long lane. As many times as I'd been to Rosalie and Jasper's home, their lane always creeped me out. It was long, almost two miles, with trees completely blocking it from the road. At night time, even the stars were blocked out by the huge canopy of leaves overhead.

"They live in the middle of fucking nowhere?" Edward asked as we drove down the winding lane.

"Why do you think they throw all the parties? No neighbors to call the cops."

When we finally pulled up to the huge white house, I didn't miss the look of surprise that crossed Edward's face. I imagined that's what my expression looked like the very first time I'd seen the Hale House.

It was a huge house that had been built sometime during the early 1900s. Though the inside had been completely renovated to reflect a more modern style, the outside had been left to its original charms. Simply put, it was beautiful.

"They live _here_? Jesus Christ, I didn't know they even **made** places like this in Forks."

"Wait until you see the inside."

I pulled off to the side of the house beside Emmett's monstrous Jeep. I parked the truck and unsnapped my seatbelt before I climbed out of the cab, shivering again Though I'd kind of come to love Forks, I could definitely do without the cold weather.

"Come on," I urged as I came around the front of the truck, still shivering slightly. I was desperate to get into the warm house.

As we made our way up to the front door, I spotted Alice's inky black hair in the window as she pranced over to pull the door open.

"About time you got here!" She greeted, throwing her tiny arms around my shoulder as she pulled me into the house. She looked Edward over, a hint of disgust on her face. "Are you _sure_ we can't convince you to put on a costume?"

He snorted. "Fucking positive," he responded, his tone leaving no room for any arguments. I'd have to take notes from him on how to be assertive, I decided as Alice started to tug me towards the stairs.

"Where are we going?" I complained.

"To start getting ready!"

"For God's sake, Alice! Can't we do pizza first? You know if you make me put on that costume, I'm going to get pizza sauce everywhere."

She pursed her lips as she considered this before she dropped her head back to call up the stairs to Rosalie. "Rose! Change of plans!"

"What?" Rosalie asked, peeking her blonde head out from the top of the steps.

"We're going to eat first. That way no one has a chance to sabotage the group by getting their costume messy."

I turned to Edward and rolled my eyes. He didn't even bother to hide his snicker, which earned him a harsh glare from Alice. "Do you need us to do anything?" I asked, eager to get away from the pixie before she changed her mind about the costumes.

"Just go order the pizzas," she commanded. "I'm going to go upstairs and find Jasper."

And with that, she turned and pranced up the stairs.

----

I knew agreeing to this whole costume business was going to be a bad idea. The costume was bad enough on the hanger, but as I looked at my reflection in the mirror, I felt a little dizzy.

"I don't remember Dorothy looking so trashy in the movie," I cringed as I tugged against the bottom of the dress, trying to pull it down to cover more of my thighs. Unfortunately, every time I tugged, even more of my chest was exposed. I truly was between a rock and a hard place.

"Don't be ridiculous Bella," Rosalie chided as Alice attached the tail to her Cowardly Lioness costume and I really wanted to laugh at her. Who was she to call anyone ridiculous when she was going to be parading around with a furry tail, but the giggle caught in my throat as I caught sight of my rear end in the mirror.

"You guys, seriously, this dress is way too short."

"Bella," Alice sighed, "please just go along with this tonight. You really look amazing. Do you know how many girls would kill to have a body like yours? You should show it off more often!"

My cheeks were flaming at this point.

"Besides," Rosalie said casually as she checked her reflection in the mirror, "there's no way you won't get Edward's attention tonight."

I nearly choked. "I don't **want** Edward's attention! Not like this!"

"Don't be stupid, Bella. You've been pining over him since the first day you laid eyes on him. It's about time you took control of the situation and **Make. Him. Notice. You."**

"Is that why you made me get this stupid outfit? So that you could try out some ridiculous match-making plan?"

"It's not ridiculous, and it's going to work."

"That is the dumbest thing I've ever heard of and I'm not playing along with this."

"Look," Rosalie snapped, apparently irritated with me, "I'm tired of watching you pussyfooting around the whole issue. It's obvious to everyone in the whole world that you're interested in him, though only God knows why, so stop being a little bitch and do something about it!"

"You don't have to be so harsh, Rose," Alice glared, her face softening when she turned to me. "We want you to be happy, Bella and I just know that he'd be the one to do that. He just needs a little… nudge in your direction. That's all we're trying to do. It's obvious that you already have his attention because we can all tell he's the most comfortable with you. We just need to get you out of the 'Friend Zone'."

"This costume is _so_ not me," I protested lamely.

"That's what's so great about Halloween."

**EPOV**

I almost pissed myself at the sight of Emmett and Jasper when they stumbled down the stairs, matching grimaces on their faces. I hadn't laughed so hard in _years_.

"You two—" I wheezed, doubling over, "—are the biggest douchebags on the planet right now! Oh man, I wish I'd brought my camera!"

"Shove it," Emmett growled, while Jasper skulked away to the kitchen, hopefully to find a large butcher knife to put himself out of his misery.

"I c-can't believe you let them talk you into this! I think this would be a deal breaker."

"You just wait," he warned. "One day, some girl's going to have you doing the same thing."

"Yeah, don't count on it. I have these things called balls and I don't let bitches order me around," I snorted, shaking my head in disbelief as I clapped my cousin on his straw-filled shoulder. "But that's okay, Em. You go on and tell yourself this is an act of love or whatever. Anything to help you sleep at night."

I had just managed to get my laughter under control when Jasper came back out of the kitchen, and I lost it again.

"Shut up," Jasper mumbled, trudging pathetically into the foyer to pull the front door open as the first of the guests arrived. I was almost positive that there would be at least a handful of other saps who were forced into ridiculous costumes at the threat of revoked pussy privileges, so I settled myself into a chair with a view so I could watch and laugh.

----

The house was filling up in no time flat. It seemed like everyone had planned their arrival at exactly the same time, and it wasn't long before a fairly big crowd had formed. Jasper had taken over the music duties while Emmett was attempting to get a game of beer pong going in the kitchen, though Bella, the pixie, and the bitch had yet to make their arrival.

I wouldn't put it past Rosalie to plan some stupid grand entrance. She was a huge attention whore.

Though Bella had informed us earlier that morning that Stanley wouldn't be attending, I couldn't help but glance towards the door with every new wave of people that showed up. Not that I really gave two shits whether or not she showed up. I just wanted to make sure she was going to keep her fucking mouth shut like I'd told her to. I didn't want to deal with any bullshit that might hit the fan if she chose the party as the perfect venue to disclose what a prick I was.

After the first twenty minutes or so, I pretty much gave up on that shit and got up to see how the beer pong game was progressing. Back in my old school, I had owned that shit and I was positive that it'd be no different here.

I made my way through the thick crowd of people that had congregated in the large living room to dance to the heinous music that Jasper was currently playing, snickering to myself at the ridiculously costumes that everyone was wearing. Halloween was stupid anyway. All it did was give females permission to dress like complete sluts and tease any dick in the general vicinity.

Of course, I wasn't complaining about the ample amount of eye candy, but it made me laugh nonetheless.

"Going somewhere, Toto?"

I rolled my eyes at the sound of Rosalie's voice as I passed the staircase and turned. I had opened my mouth to spit out a retort, but at the sight of them, I lost all train of thought.

I'd been physically attracted to Rosalie from the minute I saw her. I didn't take pride in that, because she was a huge bitch, but I had no control over the way my dick reacted to the very sight of her.

And Alice… well, Alice had always been fuckable, as far as I was concerned, but she was the complete package. She had the looks, the brains and she was witty as shit. Not to mention she had a nice little set of tits on her.

But even now, standing there in their skimpy ass Cowardly Lioness and Glinda the Good Witch costumes, I had eyes only for the one in the middle.

She was clearly uncomfortable as she tugged the bottom of her dress down slightly, desperately trying to hide the creamy skin of thighs that visible between the hem and the white thigh-highs that hugged her legs. Her face was set in a grimace that rivaled Emmett and Jasper's from earlier.

Her long brown hair had been twisted into two long French braids that hung slightly past her shoulders and I watched as she brought a hand up to finger the end of her braid, chewing nervously on her lower lip.

"I'm going to find Jasper," Alice chirped as she bounced down the stairs and brushed past me, throwing Bella a little wave as she went.

"And I'm," Rosalie announced, like anybody cared, "going to find Emmett. Try to keep the drool to a minimum, mutt."

I resisted the urge to stick my foot out and trip her as she went by before I returned my attention to Bella.

Without the presence of Alice and Rosalie, she seemed to shrink even further into herself and I suddenly found myself irritated. She was gorgeous, there was no doubt about that, but she was also so obviously out of her comfort zone. Why the hell would she allow them to talk her into doing something she wasn't comfortable with?

I hated bitches who conformed.

"Well," I said, looking her over from head to toe, "I see you've taken a page of Barbie's book for the night."

"What do you mean?" She asked, her eyebrows furrowing.

"It's sexy as hell, but I didn't quite peg you for a tramp." That was quite possibly a low blow and I knew that. "That wasn't very nice," I conceded. "Sorry. But this… this costume is _so _not you, Bella. What are you doing?"

"That's the best thing about Halloween," she responded, her voice wavering ever-so-slightly, "because on Halloween, I don't have to be _me_."

And with that, before I could even offer up a better formed apology, she hurried down the stairs and stomped passed me before she disappeared into the crowd of people.

Well shit.

**BPOV**

Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid.

That's what I was for letting Alice and Rosalie talk me into getting into this stupid costume. I brushed the tears angrily from my cheeks as I disappeared into the kitchen, my blurry eyes scanning the crowd for the tall blonde. Luckily for me, she towered most of the population of Forks anyway and I spotted her in the corner of the kitchen, sucking face with Emmett.

I squeezed my way through the crowd of people and tapped her firmly on the shoulder, scowling when she attempted to push me away. "Rosalie! We need to talk!"

She pulled away Emmett with a groan of disappointment before she turned to me, startled to see the traces of tears still on my cheeks. "Emmett," she commanded, "disappear for awhile, would you baby?"

"But Rose--!"

"Emmett, now! I'll find you in a little while. Go play beer pong or something."

And without another word of protest, Emmett trudged off, leaving a trail of straw in his wake.

"Ooh, are we having a private party?" Alice squealed as she came up behind me, draping her arm casually around my shoulder.

"What happened, Bella?" Rosalie asked, ignoring Alice.

"He called me a tramp!" I blurted out, the ridiculously fat tears sliding down my cheeks again. "I told you guys this was a bad idea! I told you it wouldn't work! There's no way he'd ever be interested in me anyway!" I cried.

"He called you a WHAT?" Alice shrieked, and I felt grateful for her outrage. At least someone else was irritated by it as I was.

I wasn't sure exactly what I expected Rosalie to do, but her reaction was not it. "Here," she said, shoving a red plastic cup into my hand.

"What? What is this? I don't want it."

"Just drink," she commanded, the scowl darkening her pretty face. "You need to just calm down."

"Rosalie, what are you doing?" Alice asked.

"She needs to relax, Alice. Don't worry about what that shithead said to you, Bella. This is **our** party and you should be having a good time."

I was never one to succumb to peer pressure when it came to things like underage drinking, but the embarrassment I felt over Edward's casual dismissal of my feelings won out. I threw my head back and closed my eyes as I downed the contents of the cup, cringing at the taste.

"That's a good girl!" Rosalie cheered as she reached for another cup of the vile tasting liquid, before she shoved it in my hand. "This'll help you to loosen up and forget all about that dog."

**APOV**

Three Plastic Cups and Four Shots Later…

_It was probably a bad idea to let Bella drink_, I mused as I watched the way she stumbled towards us, the bottle of Popov vodka clutched in her hand, swaying her hips slightly to the bad 80s music that Jasper currently had blasting from the speakers.

"We should have cut her off after the beer."

"Nah," Rosalie disagreed, shaking her head. "Look at her; she's having a good time."

"Tomorrow is going to be rough on her. Maybe we should take the vodka away."

"Leave her alone," she demanded, her tone leaving no room for argument.

I rolled my eyes and shook my head, before I turned my attention back to my intoxicated girlfriend. Her hair had started to come out of the braids and her once-flawless makeup was smudged from the tears and sweat, but she didn't care.

"What are we watching?" Emmett asked as he came up behind us, dropping around me and Rosalie.

"Bella."

"What's she doing?"

"Other than being drunk? I think she's trying to dance."

"What do you mean drunk? Bella doesn't drink."

"Correction: Bella **didn't** drink. Apparently she does now."

"Sonofabitch! Who decided** that** was a good idea?"

"Oh get over it, Emmett," Rosalie scowled, rolling her eyes as she pulled away from her boyfriend's touch. "She's a big girl. She's allowed to drink if she wants to."

"How much has she had?"

"A few beers and a couple of shots."

"What? Jesus Christ, Rose! That shit's fine for us; we're used to it!"

"She'll be fine. Why does everyone insist on babying the poor girl? No wonder she has no backbone."

"Why the hell would you encourage something like that?"

"Because she needed to relax!"

"So you got her tanked?"

"It worked didn't it?"

"Yeah, until she's puking her guts out later."

"She'll be **fine**."

**BPOV**

Man, did I feel great! I grinned as I waved to Jasper before taking another sip from my bottle. I cringed slightly as the clear liquid burned my throat on the way down. I wasn't exactly sure what this stuff was, but Rosalie had assured me it was okay to drink as she'd poured me the first shot. It was uncomfortable at first, but the burning didn't bother me quite as bad now.

Feeling slightly breathless as the song ended, I stumbled my way through the crowd of people towards the last place I'd seen Rose and Alice. I took another sip from the bottle, shuddering slightly as it slid down my throat.

"Having fun?" Rosalie greeted with a smirk as they came in to view. I spotted Emmett scowling in the corner of the room, glaring in our direction, but I grinned and waved.

"A blast!" I squealed, throwing my arms around her. "Y'know, I think this might be the best party in the his'ry of the world."

"Really? In the whole world?"

"In the whol' wide biiiig world!" I agreed with a nod, laughing as some of the liquid sloshed out of the bottle. "Oopsie poopsie. Sorry," I cringed.

"Bella, are you feeling okay?" Alice asked, looking at me with her wide eyes. Sometimes, I thought Alice looked a little like a cartoon character. One of those anime thingys that artsy people always drew.

"I feel grrrrrreat!" I laughed. "Oh wait, Rose, you should be saying that. You're the tiger!"

"I'm a lion, Bella," she corrected.

"Oh right. Lions and tigers and skunks, oh my!"

"Okay," Alice said with a nod. "I think it's time to take the vodka away," she decided, reaching for my bottle, but I batted her hands away. I wasn't sharing.

"Nuh-uh. Get your own bottle!" And as if to prove my point, I took another sip.

Rosalie snorted, which turned into laughter, but Alice shook her head and made kind of a sad face. I didn't really like when Alice was sad, but I didn't really want to share my good stuff with her either so I patted her on the shoulder.

"There, there. S'okay. We'll find you your own bottle, k? There gots to be more floatin' 'round here somewhere!"

I linked my arm through hers and tugged in the direction of the kitchen, but I immediately stopped when I spotted _him_, huddled in the corner with two skanky seniors.

I really tried to ignore him after he hurt my feelings, because Rosalie said it would have been pathetic if I'd tried to make him apologize to me or something, but I was so _aware_ of him. It must have been that stupid bronze hair that he never brushed. I bet he got that stupid color out of a bottle too. No one's _real _hair was that shiny.

"Wha's he doing?" I grumbled, my pout matching Alice's as my eyes became glued to him. "Why's he talkin' to them but he wouldn' talk to me? Wha' I do wrong?"

"Don't worry about him," Alice soothed, trying to pull me into the kitchen, but I brushed her hand away.

"Stop. I'mma go talk to him."

"No sweetie, you don't want to do that."

"Sure she does!" Rosalie said with a nod. "You go get him, Bella."

"Rosalie, are you out of your mind? She's going to make a fool of herself if she goes to talk to him to like this!"

"Am not a fool!" I grumbled childishly. "An' I'll prove it!"

I threw my braids back over my shoulders and stood up just a little straighter. I'd go show that idiot that I was just as sophisticated as those stupid seniors. And my outfit was not as trampy as theirs, thankyouverymuch.

I took another sip from my bottle and drew a deep breath before I marched myself right over to where that stupid, impossibly good-looking jerk stood, with his back to me. I scowled as the two seniors girls eyed me and resisted the urge to stick my tongue out at them.

I reached up and tapped him on the shoulder. "Hey!"

He whirled around and startled me, causing me to stumble backwards. I cringed as the bottle slipped from my hand and landed with a crash against the hardwood floor.

I turned to Rose to mouth an apology for the mess, but she waved me on.

"Bella?"

The sound of _his_ voice reminded me of my task, so I turned back to him, snorting loudly. "Well, well, well! It looks like the Wicked Witches have already arrived!"

Behind me, I could Rosalie's distinctive snicker. I turned again, eyes wide, and found that for the most part, the room had gone silent and all eyes were on me.

Ooops.

"Is she serious?" The Wicked Witch of the East asked Edward when I turned back to face them, amusement evident in her voice. "You've got to be kidding me."

I knew there was a reason that bitch got a house dropped on her within the first half hour of the movie.

"I need'a talk to you!" I informed Edward, planting my hands on my hips.

"Are you drunk?" He asked, disgust lacing his voice.

"Why are you so mean to me?" I countered, ignoring his question, and ignoring Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dumb as they snickered at me behind their hands.

"Bella, we'll talk about this later," he said with a shake of his head as he turned back towards the Witches.

"No, I wanna talk 'bout this now!" I retorted, grabbing his arm to force him to look at me.

"You're being stupid!"

"You're th' stupid one, Edward!"

"Bella, you need to stop before you make a fool out of yourself," he cautioned, his voice steady, even though his green eyes were flashing with anger.

"I already did that in hopes of you payin' attention to me! But I'm so sorry; obviously you prefer blonde tramps over the brunette variety! How dumb of me to make that mistake!"

"What a loser," Wicked Witch of the West snickered before Edward turned his anger on her.

"Shut up!" He snarled.

I turned away from them, heat rising in my cheeks as the tears burned my eyes. I could feel my stomach churning and my head was beginning to pound. I needed to get the hell away from here.

"Bella!" He called as I hurried away from him. "Bella wait! Where are you going?"

"There's no place like home," I choked out, pulling away when he reached for me.

"Sonofa--!" I heard him curse, but I didn't care. I didn't want to look at him. I didn't want to look at anyone.

"Bella!" I heard Alice call, but I ignored her too as I brushed passed Emmett and Jasper.

I managed to make it into the foyer before I lost my footing in the stupid red high heels that Rosalie had forced me into. A cry escaped from my lips as I tumbled to the floor before everything went black.

**EPOV**

I knew I'd hurt her feelings earlier in the night when I'd referred to her costume as trampy, and I knew it was wrong, I'd kind of apologized, but when she'd hurried away from me, I didn't go after her and apparently, I should have,. Because now things had been blown way out of proportion.

And she was drunk.

"Bella, you need to stop before you make a fool out of yourself," I'd warned her, irritated that the stupid bitch and the little pixie had allowed her to get to this point.

"I already did that in hopes of you payin' attention to me! But I'm so sorry; obviously you prefer blonde tramps over the brunette variety! How dumb of me to make that mistake!"

_You __**got**__ to be kidding me_, I thought as I stood there, dumbfounded. She'd dressed up in this ridiculous costume in an effort to impress me? Was she high? Didn't she know that I preferred her just the way she was? Obviously not.

"What a loser," Brandi giggled beside me and I wanted to slap the shit right out of the dumb cunt.

"Shut up!" I roared. I didn't know why the hell I'd been talking to these tramps anyway. _Because they have pussies and you are weak_, my inner voice reminded me. Oh yeah. I guess that's a good reason as any

When she turned away and made a dash for exit, I called out to her.

"Bella! Bella, wait! Where are you going?"

"There's no place like home," she cried, her voice cracking and I knew I was fucking done for. It always bothered me when chicks cried, though usually not enough for me to actually do anything about it. But it hurt to know I'd caused this.

"Sonofa--!"

Alice called to her, but Bella ignored her as she hurried passed Emmett and Jasper, trying to make a quick escape from an uncomfortable situation

"Don't just stand there, you moron! Go after her!" Rosalie snapped, and almost as if on command, I moved forward, hurrying after her.

I watched in horror as her ankle twisted beneath her in those stupid ruby slippers that Rosalie no doubt had forced on her and I hurried forward in an attempt to catch her before she hit the ground. I cringed when she cracked her head against the end table behind the door, but I managed to reach her before she went down completely.

"Fuck," I muttered as I lifted her into my arms, careful not to jostle her too much.

"What the fuck?" Emmett cried out from behind me.

"She smacked her head pretty hard against the table when she tripped."

"Get her upstairs," Jasper ordered as Rosalie and Alice turned the music back on in an attempt to draw the crowd's attention away from us.

I followed after Jasper, Bella still cradled in my arms, her head resting against my shoulder. Jasper threw the door open to a spare bedroom and pointed to the bed.

"Lay her down," he ordered.

"But put her on her side. She's most likely going to puke at some point. She's had a lot to drink."

"Bella," I coaxed, ignoring both of them as I laid her down gently on the bed. I shook her shoulders carefully, trying to wake her up. "Bella?"

She flinched slightly and pulled away from me, forcing her eyes open. "Go 'way," she grumbled, though I sighed in relief. At least she wasn't fucking brain damaged or anything.

"I'm going to need a bucket, some Tylenol and some water," I ordered. "This is going to be a long fucking night."

----

Long after the party had come to an end, and the two couples had gone to their bedrooms for the night, I sat at the head of the bed in the spare room with Bella's head pillowed in my lap. I was exhausted, but I couldn't sleep.

"Edward," she mumbled, the word coming out as a soft sigh, as she had for the last hour or so.

I knew she wasn't awake and the thought of her saying _my_ name in her sleep did funny things to my chest. I could feel it constrict painfully with each little sigh and I wasn't exactly sure what that feeling meant and whether it was good or bad.

I pulled the blanket a little higher on her shoulders, careful not wake her.

I hated the thought that I was the one who had reduced her to this. I mean, I wasn't taking complete blame because she's the one who decided it would be a better idea to get tanked than to deal with the situation like an adult, but whatever. Regardless, I hated that I was the reason she'd been upset in the first place.

I liked Bella, of that I was sure. She was the one person in this fucking town—hell, on this fucking _Earth_-- that I was the most comfortable with, that I felt like I could actually be myself, but I didn't know what to do to. It was pretty fucking terrifying to think about it—I had only known her a few weeks, for crying out loud!

"Edward," she murmured again and I couldn't stop the retarded smile that made itself at home on my face.

_Definitely a good feeling_, I thought as I leaned down to press a chaste kiss to her lips. I'd just have to talk to someone and figure out how to not fuck this up. I guess a call to Carlisle was in order after all.

**A/N**: As much as I love **Oblivious!Edward/Drunk!Bella**, I love **reviews** more! So **dazzle **me!


	11. Chapter Eleven: Turning The Tide

**A/N: Before we get to this next chapter, I just have to say one thing: HOLY COW YOU GUYS! You've pushed me over the 200 review mark and that's awesome! Thank you so much to everyone who takes the time to review, especially those of you who have been a constant over the last ten chapters!**

**Now, onto the important crap. This chapter is probably my least favorite but I had to do it because I wanted to show that Rosalie and Alice (but esp. Rosalie) aren't asshole friends and really didn't mean to humiliate Bella. I've also thrown in a hint of Jasper for all you Jasper lovers out there with a pinch of Carlisle to hold you over until he makes his return to Forks! That being said, I really hope the chapter makes sense, as most of it was written in a hospital waiting room (my poppop has been in Critical Care since New Years Day) so I apologize if it's slightly jumbled and ask for forgiveness! As always, reviews help me write faster! I swear!  
**

**Chapter Eleven: Turning The Tide  
**

**BPOV**

The Next Morning…

My head was pounding before I even opened my eyes. With a low groan, I rolled over on the bed and immediately regretted the action, as my stomach rolled. It reminded me of the time last year when I came down the flu, except slightly intensified. I was fairly sure my friends had set me outside at some point during the night and run me down with the Chevy several times, but I would never be able to prove that in a court of law.

I opened my eyes slowly, squinting against the brightness of the room. The light assaulted my eyes and I actually gasped, as it felt like someone had taken a sledgehammer to my head. Another groan escaped my lips as I pulled the pillow from under my head to throw it over my face and block out the light.

I heard a low chuckle from the doorway, but I didn't bother to look. I would recognize it anywhere.

"Good morning, sunshine. And how are we feeling?" Jasper asked.

"Like I was run over by a truck," I grumbled from under the pillow.

"Imagine that," he responded, and I could hear the smirk in his voice. "Come out from under there. I have something that'll make you feel better."

I highly doubted that, but I was desperate for relief, so I pulled the pillow from my face. "What is it?" I asked wearily. He crossed the room, a glass in his outstretched hand. "What is this?"

"Water," he replied simply.

"That's your magic cure? A glass of water?"

"You'd be surprised," he said dryly. "Your head hurts because you're dehydrated. Drink this and let's see if you can keep it down. If you can, we'll see about getting you something to eat."

The mere mention of food sent my stomach rolling again, and in one swift motion, I was out of the bed, sprinting out of the room to the bathroom. I could hear Jasper's low chuckle again from behind me as I knelt down in front of the toilet, gagging.

"Shut up," I moaned, once I was positive that my stomach was empty. I leaned my forehead against the cool bowl, groaning when I felt Jasper's cold hand on the back of my neck as he pulled my hair back out of my face.

"I'm not laughing at you. I'm laughing with you."

"I'm not laughing."

"You will be one day when you think back to your first hangover."

"I'm never drinking again," I vowed as I lifted my head, closing my eyes against the pounding.

"That's what they all say, kid. Sorry to say. Do you think you're done yakking or should I leave you here a little longer?"

"I don't think I have any left to throw up," I moaned.

"Good, because I swear to God, if you puke on me, I'm going to drop you," he swore as he lifted me with ease into his arms. He carried back across the hall, into the bedroom before he deposited me onto the bed. "Alright, let's get some water into you. It'll help, I swear."

Sitting up carefully, I gripped the cup and took a tentative sip, terrified of the possible outcome. I was pleased, however, when I didn't feel the overwhelming urge to get sick, so I took another drink.

"Not too much," he warned. "Sip slowly."

"How bad was it last night?" I asked as I reached over to set the cup on the stand.

"Are you sure you want to know?"

"That bad?" I asked, cringing. I couldn't remember much after the whole issue with that idiot over my costume.

"Well, why don't you tell me what you remember and then I'll fill in the blanks?"

"I remember coming downstairs with Rosalie and Alice. They took off to find you and Em, leaving me by myself with Edward," I said, grimacing at his name. "He was really mean to me, Jasper. He hurt my feelings."

"So I guess you don't remember telling him off?" Color flooded my cheeks. No, I certainly couldn't remember that! Maybe it was better off that way. "And I've got say, while I wish you hadn't gotten tanked to do it, I was pretty proud of you for standing up to him. But I guess it doesn't really count if you can't remember it," he mused.

"Tell me _everything_."

"Let's see… I'm guessing you started drinking because he hurt your feelings. Which, by the way, is **not** an okay reason to get wasted. You're in for a lecture from Emmett on that one," he warned, with a roll of his eyes. "But I guess we can't really blame you for that one. Rosalie was the brains behind that. You'll be pleased to know that her meddling license has been revoked because of that."

"How much trouble is _she_ in?" I asked.

"Loads. Emmett freaked out on her over the whole situation. She's been groveling all morning. It's pretty priceless, actually. When you're feeling up to it, you really need to go take advantage of that. She owes you big time."

"It wasn't Rose's fault though! I could have protested!"

"When have you ever protested **anything** that her and Alice have put you up to?" He asked. "You're kind of a push-over when it comes to them, Bella. No offense or anything."

"None taken," I responded dryly; because he was right. I _was _kind of a push-over.

"Anyway, after you got drunk, I think Alice realized it was a bad situation because she tried to get you out of there, but you spotted Edward with Brandi and Lucy. This is when it got pretty hilarious."

Another groan. "How bad?"

"You made a few references to the Wizard of Oz, which I thought was pretty impressive, given your intoxicated state. You two argued for a minute because you want to talk to him and he wanted to wait until you were more sober. It was kind of like a scene out of a bad teen movie."

"I hate him," I grumbled.

"I haven't gotten to the best part of the story yet. Save your judgment for the end."

"I don't need to hear the end, Jasper. He's such a jerk and I don't know why! I've gone out of my way to be nice to him from the very first minute I met him and he's just… I keep hoping if I just… act normal, he'll remember how a regular human being is supposed to behave but he just… he's a huge disappointment."

"Well," Jasper said with a shrug as he pushed himself to his feet, "I definitely think he needs a personality transplant, but he's not all bad, Bella."

"How can you say that, Jasper? Especially after last night!"

"I can say it _because_ of last night. I'm not expecting you to remember, given you were wasted out of your mind, but would you like to take a guess at who sat with you all night? Who stayed awake to make sure you didn't die from alcohol poisoning or a concussion?"

_You've __**got**__ to be kidding me_, I thought.

"I'm not kidding," he said, obviously reading my expression. "He didn't leave your side until Emmett threatened bodily harm if he didn't go home and get some sleep. Now, I didn't tell you this so you'd change your mind about him being a—what did you call him?—oh yeah, a _disappointment_. But I thought you should know that apparently, there's a real live human being in there hidden somewhere. It's just a matter of coaxing him out."

I rubbed a hand over my face as I digested this information. "He really stayed in here all night?"

"Wouldn't even let me in and Emmett sit in here. He told us we should just go to bed, that he'd wake us up if he needed to."

"What am I supposed to do now, Jasper?"

"Well, I'd say you should probably talk to him and then go from there."

"What if he won't talk to me?"

"Bella," he said, slightly exasperated, "he sat up with you all night to make sure you didn't die. He watched you puke and he still had to be forced to leave your side. I think that's a pretty good indication that he wouldn't mind talking to you."

"If he wanted to talk to me so bad, then why did he leave?"

"Have you not been listening to a word I said? Emmett made him. He said whatever you two had to work out would be best dealt with if he wasn't crabby from a lack of sleep."

"So should I call him?"

"First thing's first, I think you need to make sure you're not going to puke anymore. And then, I would recommend a shower and a brush. Have you _seen _your hair this morning?" He teased. "But seriously. Drink some more water, come downstairs, and then we'll figure this thing out. And when I say 'we', I really mean 'you' because no one else is allowed to meddle in your love life. It's a new rule."

"To go along with the 'no troll policy' of the lunch table?"

"Exactly," he grinned. "But you know if we start _really_ enforcing that, then that means Rose won't be able to sit with us anymore."

I giggled quietly at that one, and was pleased to see that it didn't hurt my head too bad to do so. "Thank you Jasper."

"You're welcome, kiddo. But you know, we really do just want you to be happy. All of us do. We just want you to have what we've been so lucky to find."

"I know," I assured him with a nod. "And I really do appreciate it."

"Good. And Bella?"

"Yeah Jas?"

"Brush your teeth before you come downstairs. Puke breath isn't attractive by any stretch of the imagination."

**EPOV**

Later That Afternoon…

"I was starting to think you were going to sleep all day," Ruby greeted as I stumbled sleepily down the stairs.

"Sorry," I mumbled in response, still too fucking tired to think up an appropriate retort. "I didn't get much sleep last night."

"I kind of figured that when you staggered in here this morning looking like death warmed over. Did you get enough sleep?"

"I doubt it." And I meant it. It was hard to even keep my goddamned eyes open, and my body was still sore from sitting in one position all night. But I had more pressing matters I had to deal with and that shit wasn't going to get done if I slept all day.

"Your father called earlier," she commented, her eyes never leaving the newspaper in her hands. "I'm positive it won't do any good to tell you to call him, but it's my grandmotherly duty to tell you anyway. So call your father."

"How long ago did he call?" I asked, not waiting for a response as I headed into the kitchen to grab the cordless phone. "Can I take this out back to call him?" I called.

"You're actually going to call?"

I rolled my eyes but took her lack of a negative response as an OK, so I headed out to the back porch. I had some important shit to discuss with Dr. Douche and it wasn't something I wanted to do with Ruby within ear-shot. I sank down onto the old glider and dialed the familiar number, dropping my head back against the cushion as it rang.

"Hello?" I cringed slightly as the smooth voice picked up after the third ring. Though I really needed to talk to him, I'd kind of been hoping he didn't answer.

"Carlisle?"

"Edward?" He sounded surprised. "Is everything okay?"

"Uh, didn't you just call for me?"

"Well, yes," he responded, "but I didn't expect you to call me back. I haven't heard from you since you got out there."

_That's what happens when you abandon your kid_, I thought bitterly. _They kind of start to hate you and don't want anything to do with you_. But I didn't say anything, because I wasn't in the mood for a fucking argument. "Listen, you aren't busy or anything are you?"

"Not at the moment. Is everything okay?" He asked again. "You aren't… you aren't in trouble or anything, are you?"

"Christ, Carlisle. No, I'm not in trouble. I need some fucking fatherly advice."

"What's going on?"

"You better not fucking laugh," I warned.

"I'm not going to laugh, Edward. Please just tell me."

"There's… there's this girl… and I… I have no fucking idea what I'm doing."

"You're being safe, aren't you? The last thing you need is to get a girl pregnant at your age."

"Jesus Christ, Carlisle, I'm not fucking her! That's the problem! I know how to fuck girls and I know how to fuck girls over but I have no goddamned clue how to… she's different!"

"Different how?" He prompted.

"She's the nicest goddamned person I've ever met. I don't have to pretend when I'm around her. I can just be me. But all I've fucking done since I've met her is hurt her and I can't… she doesn't deserve this shit."

"How do you feel about her, Edward?"

"I don't know. I just... I didn't even _look_ at her that way at first! Like, I didn't look at her and go 'Oh hey! I have to hit that!' like I do with all the others. I actually kind of thought she was retarded, come to think of it. But the more time I spend with her? I _like_ her. She makes me want to be a better goddamned person! And I know how fucking cheesy that sounds, but I just... What the fuck am I supposed to do about this?"

"Have you talked to her about this?"

"Well, no. But I didn't even realize she gave two shits about me until last night."

"What happened last night?"

"Her friends threw this huge Halloween party and I accidentally insulted her and I swear to Christ I didn't mean to but seriously! Who the fuck decided it was a good idea to put on lingerie and call it a Halloween costume? It's okay for sluts and whores, but she's _better_ than that Carlisle. I got so pissed off that she cheapened herself that way. And then, she got tanked and told me that _I _was the reason she dressed that way. Because apparently, she's been trying to get my attention and I'm too fucking stupid to notice!"

"You all were drinking?" He asked sternly.

"Don't go all fucking parental. I didn't even have anything to drink. But only because she was there. Do you _see_ what the fuck she's doing to me? When do I **ever** turn down alcohol? I didn't want her to think even worse things about me all because I decided to get shit faced!"

He got quite for a long time and I almost hung up on him. I didn't call him to listen to him breathe into the goddamned phone. I called to get advice, and he wasn't producing. But just as I was about to end the call, he spoke again.

"I really wish I had the answers for you, Edward. But the problem with relationships is that there **is **no right way to deal with them. If you like this girl that much though, the first thing you're going to have to do is talk to her; tell her how you feel."

"But what the hell am I supposed to say?"

"Tell her exactly what you've told me. Be honest; tell her that you don't know how to deal with these new feelings and that you're scared shitless, but that you want to figure it out. For her and with her."

And then I laughed. "Do you know how gay that sounds? I might as well chop off my nuts and hand them to her."

"Sometimes, you just have to lay it all out there."

"And what if I 'lay it all out there' and she laughs at me?"

"You know her better than I do; is she the type of person that would laugh at you?"

"Well, no. But what if she does?"

"You can't play the 'What If' game when it comes to relationships, Edward. Because the minute you start questioning everything, it falls apart. It's hard, it's tough, and it's terrifying as hell. It's just like diving off a cliff into the water below. You just jump, and sometimes, you don't land just right and it hurts like hell. But it's always worth it in the end."

"So basically, you're telling me to stop being a little bitch and just do it?"

"For lack of a better phrase, yes."

I sighed softly as I closed my eyes, taking in his advice. "I guess I should probably get ready so I can go make things right with this chick."

"She must be something special if she's got you this worked up."

"She is," I nodded, though he couldn't see me.

"Well do me a favor?"

I thought it was pretty rich that he was asking me for anything, but I humored him. "What?"

"If you think about it, call me and let me know how this all turns out."

"Wow Carlisle, are we actually bonding?" I asked sarcastically. "I think we've both just grown pussies."

He laughed loudly and I could imagine him shaking his head. "It certainly seems that way, doesn't it? Listen, I won't keep you because I'm sure you're anxious to deal with this. But take care of yourself, son."

"I will," I replied. "And uh… thanks for the advice and shit."

After saying goodbye to my father, I headed back into the house to shower and change. I had no idea if Bella would even talk to me after last night, but I had to try. I headed up the stairs, passing Ruby on my way, and I was almost positive I could see a smile on her face.

----

"Thanks for coming to pick me up," I greeted as I climbed into the sporty red car.

"I'm not doing it for you," Rosalie spat. "I'm doing it for Bella."

"Hah," I snorted. "Trying to make up for letting her humiliate herself last night? Well that's noble of you, I guess."

"At least I'm not the one that made her cry."

"No, you're right about that," I agreed as she threw the car into gear. "But you know the difference between me and you? I know I'm an asshole, and I'm okay with that. But I don't walk around with a holier-than-thou attitude, pretending to be someone I'm not. You, on the other hand, encouraged someone you call your 'best friend' to not only embarrass herself, but to drink herself stupid for your own entertainment."

"That's not true! I was _trying_ to help her!"

"Well, you have a really fucked up view of what helping someone is supposed to look like." She scowled into the mirror, but didn't respond. Edward- 1, Rosalie- 0.

"Listen," she said after awhile, though she still didn't look at me, "I know how bad last night looked. Trust me; everyone is mad at me for what happened, except for Bella, but I didn't do anything to purposefully hurt her. Do you have any idea how she feels about you? Probably not, so I'm going to spell it out for you."

"Emmett warned every one of us from the very beginning about you. He said, basically, that you were an ungrateful, self entitled asshole who thought women were put on Earth for the sole purpose of pleasing you. But see, Bella's the kind of person that prefers to form her own opinions on people and she gives them the benefit of the doubt. Because she's a good person."

"I don't know what happened that Saturday that the two of you went to Port Angeles together, but obviously, she sees something the rest of us don't see. I've watched the way she watches you; especially when you were letting Stanley hang all over you. Now, personally, I think you'd be doing us all a favor by staying far away from her, but that's not what she wants. All Alice and I wanted to do was help her get your attention."

"So you dressed her like a slut and got her wasted?"

"Based on the sole fact that you let **Jessica Stanley** slobber all over you, we assumed that was the kind of chick you went for."

"I wish everyone would stop bringing up fucking Jessica Stanley. That shit's getting old."

"Your problem. That's what you get for messing around with her in the first place. Which reminds me: I don't know exactly **what** transpired between you and Stanley, but I'd be willing to bet that I have a pretty good idea. And I'm warning you right now. If you **ever** try to pull a hit and run on Bella; no, if you even **think** about it, I swear to God you will live to regret it."

"So now you're threatening me?"

"That's not a threat, babycakes. That's a promise. I might have messed up as a friend last night, but there's a reason I dressed up as the lioness, and it's not because I'm cowardly; I'm fiercely protective of those I love, and if you fuck this up, I swear to God you'll feel my wrath."

**BPOV**

"I don't think I can face him, Alice."

"You have to."

I sighed heavily as I sank down onto Rosalie's bed. I'd been just as surprised as everyone else when she volunteered to go pick Edward up from Miss Ruby's so that he and I could talk without prying adult ears, but as the seconds ticked by, my nerves were starting to get the best of me.

"But I made a fool out of myself last night."

"Honey, we've all been there. And you can't take all the blame for that. Rosalie never should have given you alcohol to start with, and I should have trusted my instincts and taken it away from you. Besides, it's not like you professed your undying love for him or anything like that. Do you know the first time I told Jasper I loved him was when I was drunk?" She laughed at the memory. "We hadn't even been going out that long. Apparently, I was making all kinds of plans about our future. Now _that's_ humiliating. They don't call the stuff 'Liquid Courage' for nothing. You say all kinds of stuff you would never say otherwise."

"What if he's just coming over here to laugh at me?"

"Do you really think we'd subject you to that? Besides, if he even tried, Jasper would pin his arms back so Emmett could break his face, I'd perm his hair, and Rosalie would castrate him."

I laughed quietly at the image but at the sound of the front door opening below, all traces of humor were gone.

"Listen," she said softly, reaching for my hand, "I'm going to have him come up here. It'll give you a little privacy. But if you get uncomfortable or anything, just yell. We'll be right downstairs."

"What if I make a bigger fool of myself?"

"It's never foolish to tell someone how you feel. Remember that," she said as she squeezed my hand reassuringly before she stood. My stomach was in knots as she left the room. I could hear her shoes clicking against the steps before I heard the sound of murmured voices below. I wasn't exactly sure what was being said, but it didn't matter. It wasn't long before I heard heavier footsteps on the stairs.

I closed my eyes, praying that this would go by painlessly when I heard his voice call my name softly. "Bella?"

"Hey Edward," I greeted quietly, forcing a smile to my face as he stepped into the room.

"Hey," he responded. "How… uh, how are you feeling?"

"Much better than I did this morning."

"Good. I was uh… I was worried that you might be pretty hungover, but you look a helluva lot better than most people do after getting so shit faced."

"Um… thanks…?" I assumed that was supposed to be a compliment. Better than being insulted, I guess. "Why don't you um… come in and sit down? Apparently, we've got some stuff to talk about."

"Yeah, apparently," he said, slightly uncomfortable as he stepped further into the room. He rubbed the back of his neck with one hand as he sank down onto the foot of the bed. "Um, I think before we… get things straight, I need to apologize to you. I'm really sorry I was such a dick last night. You really did look beautiful, but I just… I'm not used to seeing you that way, I guess. I really didn't mean to hurt your feelings though, and I feel like such a huge bastard for making you cry."

"I overreacted," I sighed.

"No, you really didn't. Anybody would have reacted that way. I'm just… I'm not used to dealing with… I don't know how to be around you, Bella. But I want to figure it out. I just…"

"I just want you to be yourself, Edward. I like _you_."

"How can you say that after all the shit I've done to you?"

"You're honest," I responded with a shrug.

"I'm an asshole," he corrected.

"Well, maybe sometimes," I teased. "But you are who you are and you don't apologize for that, nor do you make excuses."

"I don't want to hurt you anymore."

"Then don't pretend like I don't exist."

"I don't think I could even if I wanted to."

I hadn't realized it at first, but over the course of our conversation, we'd inched closer and closer together; we were close enough that I could see every speck of brown in his startling green eyes, count every line between his eyes from where he furrowed his eyebrows so often, and smell a faint trace of toothpaste on his breath when he licked his lips.

"Bella…" No one had ever said my name quite like _that_ before. My insides quivered and my heart started to pound against my chest.

"Yes?"

"I'm going to kiss you now."

It wasn't a question or request, but even if it had been, I wouldn't have been able to tell him no. I leaned forward to meet him halfway, and the minute our lips connected, I felt free.

**A/N: **As much as I love **Fierce!Rosalie/BigBrother!Jasper, **I love **reviews **more. So **dazzle** me!


	12. Author's Note: Sorry Guys!

I hate fakeout chapters with a passion and I hate the fact that I've resorted to writing one, but I've received a few PMs about the future of this story, and I wanted to clarify a few things:

I haven't given up on this, I swear. And I hope that the lull between posts won't discourage any of my faithful readers to ignore the coming update (which, I swear to the Baby Jesus, is almost done!)

The reason for the lack of updates is because my poppop passed away. I had posted in the beginning of the last chapter that he'd been in the hospital since New Years day but he passed away last Saturday and we just had the service yesterday, so needless to say, the story has been the last thing on my mind.

But today, I opened my document back up and started writing again. I'm hoping to have the next chapter ready to go by tomorrow or Tuesday at the very latest. I'm sorry for the delay, and hopefully, you guys understand, but I swear I haven't given up and I just hope y'all haven't given up on me!

Thanks to everyone who's inquired about the story! It makes me feel good to know people are anxious for the next part! Love y'all!

-Liz


	13. Chapter Twelve: Talk of the Town

A/N: Holy Shit! I'm still alive?! I almost forgot my sign on for this site and let me just tell you, I'm so fucking sorry this took 8 million years to post. I wanted to thank you guys for being so supportive and not forgetting about me while I fell off the face of the earth. I've had a lot of shit going on and my heart just hasn't been in this. I'm sorry this chapter is so short, and I kind of hate it, but I wanted to get something out so you guys know I didn't abandon this! Thank you all for the PMs and reviews and I promise I'm going to try to do better!

**Chapter Twelve: Talk Of The Town**

**EPOV**

**Monday Morning…**

I was used to being stared at; I'd spent the majority of my life with all eyes on me. People were either watching to catch a glimpse of my latest fuck or my most recent fuck _up_. Regardless, I was used to the attention. Bella, I realized, was _not_.

I don't exactly know what she expected; she _had _made a drunken fool out of herself at the stupid party Friday night and people were bound to talk. The Police Chief's daughter getting wasted out of her mind and confessing her undying love to the womanizing outcast was definitely gossip worthy.

Okay, so it wasn't exactly that dramatic, but she did get pretty hammered. And that was more than enough to get people talking.

As we pulled up to the school together in her beat up old Chevy, I saw the way her knuckles tightened on the steering wheel, the way her jaw clenched at the thought of the unwanted attention she was sure to receive. Had it been anyone else in the world, I probably would have found the situation pretty humorous, but because it was her, I didn't.

"It's not going to be that bad," I assured her.

"They're already staring and I haven't even parked yet."

"Well of course they're staring, Bella. But they'll get over it."

"But they're _staring_!"

"So tell them to fuck off," I suggested with a shrug of my shoulders. It always worked for me.

With an exasperated sigh, she maneuvered her monster into a parking space and threw the truck into park. "It's not that easy, Edward. This is embarrassing."

"People get drunk every day, Bella. I swear to God it's not that serious."

"But those people aren't _me_. I never do that, **ever**, and of course the first time I decide to try had to be in front of practically the whole student body!"

"Still not seeing the big deal. You made a fool out of yourself. It happens. It's over with though. Let them talk and stare today and by this time tomorrow, it'll all be forgotten."

"You must not have lived in a small town before! People in small towns do **not** forget. Ever. I'll always be known as the drunken idiot."

I fought the urge to roll my eyes and I could feel my irritation with Rosalie returning. After all, it was almost all her fault. I couldn't assign all the blame to her, because both Bella and I acted stupidly, but Rosalie was the one who'd thrown alcohol into the mix in the first place.

"I still don't think this is something to freak out about."

"Of course not," she grumbled as she lifted her bag from the seat before she threw the door open to climb out. "But I do."

Again, I had to battle with myself to keep from rolling my eyes. So overdramatic. It was kind of cute. "Are you freaked out about the thought of people staring at you or because of the situation that caused it?"

"The situation, I think," she said as she stepped down out of the cab of the truck, pulling the hood of her jacket up over her head.

I climbed from the toasty cab of the truck and kicked the heavy door shut behind me. Slinging my bag onto one shoulder, I made my way around the front of the truck and gave her a sincere crooked grin. "Then we'll just have to give them something _else _to talk about," I declared before I leaned down and pressed a kiss to her perfectly pouty lips.

----

By the end of first period, Bella was the talk of the school. Completely different subject matter this time, though, which I suspected she was okay with this time around, if her shy grin when I met her at the end of her first class was any indicator.

"So…" I prompted, cocking an eyebrow in her direction as I dropped an arm around her shoulder.

"Definitely bearable," she concluded with a nod as she glanced up at me with a grin. "But I'm confused about something."

"What's that?"

"What should I tell people when they ask if we're dating?"

"I think the easiest answer would be the truth."

"Which is?"

"You're mine."

"I'm _yours_?"

"Well yeah. If you want to be."

"I kind of like the sound of that."

_Good_, I thought. _So do I._ But I just grinned.

----

**BPOV**

"So?" Angela prompted as I slid into my seat in my first period.

"What?" I asked innocently as I dropped my bag to my side, pulling a pen out of the front pocket.

"Oh don't you even try that with me, Isabella Swan!" She hissed. "What's up with you and Cullen?"

"What do you mean?" I asked, and immediately felt my cheeks beginning to flame.

"Oh come **on**! The two of you just made out in the parking lot! What's up with you two? Did you work everything out after the party Friday night?"

Any normal person would have probably taken the time to figure out the answer to that question _before_ it was asked. But when had I ever been normal? I wasn't exactly sure _what _the situation was. I know we'd shared an amazing kiss on Saturday. Actually, we'd shared a _couple_ amazing kisses on Saturday.

We'd spent the majority of Sunday texting back and forth until Charlie had complained that if I kept texting, my fingers would fall off. And on the way to school this morning, things had definitely _felt _different. But I didn't know how. We hadn't exactly clarified that, but especially after the display this morning, I decided I should probably figure it out.

"I'm not really sure, Ang," I said with a sigh. "We definitely worked things out, but I'm not sure where that leaves us," I replied honestly. "But you'd better believe I'm going to find out."

----

When the bell sounded, signaling the end of class, I gathered my things with another promise to Angela to let her know what was going on as soon as _I _found out. She gave me a grin and made her way out of the class, several students trailing behind her.

I stood from my desk and slung my bag over my shoulder with a soft sigh as I made my way out of the classroom. My heart nearly stopped as my breath caught in my throat when I saw him.

He was standing against the door frame, looking like he'd stepped out of a stupid Abercrombie and Fitch catalogue. The rain frizzed everyone else's hair out, but it simply made him all the more beautiful. Corny, I know. I could feel a silly smile beginning to form on my lips.

"So?" He asked, dropping his arm around my shoulder. I could feel my heart start again as it pounded against my chest.

"Definitely bearable," I responded with a nod as I tried to control my breathing. It wouldn't do any good to let him know just how much his touch affected me. "But I'm confused about something."

"What's that?" He asked, furrowing his eyebrows.

"What should I tell people when they ask if we're dating?"

"I think the easiest answer would be the truth."

Oh _crap_. "Which is?"

"You're mine."

He'd only spoken two words, and yet they were more than enough to make my knees go weak. Before him, I'd probably hauled off and kicked anyone who implied I was a possession, but the way he said it sent shivers down my spine.

"I'm yours?" I asked, my breath hitching every so slightly.

"Well yeah. If you want to be."

"I kind of like the sound of that."

The crooked grin that I was beginning to love returned to his handsome face, and I could feel the heat rising in my cheeks. I was fairly sure that if he kept smiling at me like that, I'd never make it to my next birthday. I would most likely spontaneously combust.


End file.
